France24′s beta initiative called The Observers follows in the vein of CNN’s iReport to give prominence to and ostensibly strengthen the station’s own reporting perspectives from citizen journalism content around the world. Though there’s nothing on Sri Lanka at the moment, the content already on the site examines alternative and interesting perspectives on the recent […]
Archive | Links RSS feed for this archive
GKP Panel – Pushing the envelop: New Media, Citizens Journalism, Human Rights and Development
Despite a degree of skepticism about the event, in which I am not alone, I helped design and will moderate a panel for the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference organized by Global Knowledge Partnership. Pushing the envelop: New Media, Citizens Journalism, Human Rights and Development Moderator: Sanjana Hattotuwa Panelists: Dan Gillmore, Ory Okolloh, Steven Gan, (plus […]
Prevention Web: a new tool to increase knowledge on disaster risk reduction
The UN/ISDR secretariat is launching PreventionWeb.net, a new website for increasing knowledge sharing on disaster risk reduction (DRR) issues, for both the general public – including media and teachers – and DRR specialists, on 15 November. “Information and knowledge are key to reducing disasters, and this new tool will facilitate the sharing of information, expertise […]
Innovation in humanitarian aid – Herein lies the future
Linked to UN OCHA +5 Symposium – Where was the innovation?, I thought of listing some practices, technologies and their application in the field that interest me because of their potential for augmenting peacebuilding and conflict transformation, that I believe has broad overlap with the imperatives of humanitarian aid. While none of the examples below […]
ICT4Peace Facebook Group
The ICT4Peace Foundation has created a group on Facebook to share and exchange information on technology in peacebuilding, conflict mitigation and humanitarian aid. It’s also intended to raise awareness on the Foundation’s ICT4Peace process. Please join the ICT4Peace Facebook group here – for which you’ll need a free Facebook account if you don’t already have […]
SMS alerts during emergencies – Lessons from Sri Lanka’s tsuanmi alert on 13 September 2007
Schools in Galle, some in Colombo were closed today. The newspaper headlines did not, to the extend that I read them, show any methodical movement of people to higher ground and safe spaces. They showed people who were confused, running away with their belongings and praying in places of worship. The religious may find solace […]
Launch of ICT4Peace inventory wiki: A global database ICT in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding
27th August 2007, Geneva, Switzerland: The ICT4Peace Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its ICT4Peace Inventory Wiki, accessible immediately from http://www.ict4peace.org/inventory-1.html. The ICT4Peace inventory wiki is one of three key foci of the ICT4Peace Foundation. It will be updated regularly and highlight emerging best practices from the field, significant research initiatives and well-grounded […]
ICT as a tool for Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management: Some pertinent questions
I was invited to attend a panel discussion on “ICT as a Tool for Peace, Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management” on 17 July 2007 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Participants of the panel were asked to respond to questions that pushed them to address the realities of using ICT in conflict prevention, […]
The ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka
In January, in a post titled HRW 2007 Report’s essay on Internet & Web Censorship – Lessons for Lanka?, I wrote: While the Sri Lankan government, for instance, is not (as yet, or to the best of my knowledge) directly censoring content on the web and internet, the blanket anti-terrorism and emergency regulations give them […]
Mobile talking: Cellphones, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights
I had an interesting conversation with New Internationalist Radio recently on the uses of mobile phones in conflict transformation. I have suggested in the past that mobile phones are increasingly a means through which citizens can secure basic human rights, and accordingly need to be seen as devices that service basic human interests & needs. […]
