At Google, Souktel Shares Its Mobile Crisis Response Technology

Last week, at Google’s London offices, Souktel’s Kristen Roggemann was one of the first to kick off a series of talks at a media and tech fair hosted by the Communicating with Disaster-Affected Communities network (CDAC).

The conference was devoted to the goal of connecting aid agencies with populations in need, using new technologies—especially cell phones.  As CDAC noted in its conference press release, this is “a world where 90% of us have access to a mobile.”

Roggemann spoke to the crowd, which included representatives from BBC Media Action, the UN Population Fund and mobile network umbrella association GSMA, about Souktel’s recent experience working with UNESCO in Gaza: In this conflict zone, Souktel created an early-warning system that lets school principals send emergency SMS alerts to students and families in the wake of sudden attacks near the school area.

“This is especially relevant,” says Roggemann, “because the system is used actively: Two weeks ago, principals sent emergency alerts to students and their parents when another round of rocket fire hit the northern Gaza Strip”.

“As an organization based in Palestine, we know all too well the reality of crisis response,” she adds, “but we’ve leveraged this to our advantage: Our technology is developed locally, so it’s built for crisis and conflict situations. We’ve since been able to deploy our mobile alert and data collection systems in Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and other regions coping with instability.”

Other speakers at the conference, which took place on March 22 and 23, included Nigel Snoad, product manager at Google Crisis Response; Pierre Kremer, head of communication for the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies; and Erik Hersman, co-founder of Ushahidi (the leading crowd-sourced mapping platform).

A few tweets from the conference:

We don’t empower communities by giving them info, they empower themselves by giving us info that we can act on @komunikasikan #commisaid – Reeni Amin Chua
“The simpler, the better” Kristen from @souktel #commisaid – Ushahidi

People who are not traditional humanitarian actors are taking on humanitarian roles, driven by the democratisation of technology #commisaid – BBC Media Action

@souktel: “be simple, be creative and learn from the community around you” #commisaid – Anahi Ayala Iacucci, Internews


Souktel Featured in Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Exchange Magazine

Also this month, Souktel president Jacob Korenblum offered three reasons why mobiles are becoming essential tools for crisis response in the March issue of Humanitarian Exchange Magazine. Published by the UK-based Humanitarian Practice Network, the Magazine’s articles reach aid agency staff and policy makers in over 130 countries. The Network and the Magazine are both initiatives of the UK’s Overseas Development Institute, a leading think tank on humanitarian and development policy.

Read the full story here.

What is Souktel? The Mobile Advantage

Souktel is a unique service that helps aid providers get news and data to/from local communities—through audio and SMS alerts and surveys on mobile phones. Learn how Souktel’s technology helps aid providers save time, save money, and connect with more people than ever. See our demos. Meet our users. Find out how Souktel can help you: www.souktel.org