Humanitarian
Emergencies: Searching
for Open data
Anahi Ayala Iacucci
Senior Innovation Advisor
aayala@internews.org

What’s Open Data?
“Open data is data that can be freely used,
reused and redistributed by anyone –
subject only, at most, to the requirement to
attribute and sharealike.”
OpenDefinition.org
2

Availability and Access: the data must be available as a whole and at
no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably by
downloading over the internet. The data must also be available in a
convenient and modifiable form.
Reuse and Redistribution: the data must be provided under terms
that permit reuse and redistribution including the intermixing with other
datasets. The data must be machine-readable.
Universal Participation: everyone must be able to use, reuse and
redistribute – there should be no discrimination against fields of
endeavour or against persons or groups. For example, ‘noncommercial’ restrictions that would prevent ‘commercial’ use, or
restrictions of use for certain purposes (e.g. only in education), are not
allowed.
3

Why Open data for
Humanitarian emergencies?

Information is Power!
1. People affected by unfolding tragedy need more than physical
necessities: They need information.
2. Timely and accurate information for disaster affected people, as
well as effective communication between populations and aid providers
are still omitted during humanitarian responses
3. Information can help to save lives, reduce suffering and enable
people in the midst of a disaster to take an active role in their own
survival and recovery
4. If we pretend to know and to be an active part in our government
decision making processes, we need also to DEMAND the same
transparency and participation for affected communities during
disasters.
5

Are affected communities less
than citizens?
6

What are the issues involved in
accessing information from
governments and the UN
during emergencies and crisis?

8

Dadaab, Kenya
(August 2011)

11

Privacy and confidentiality
Difficult does not mean impossible!
12

Verification
Lack of trust?
13

Access
14

what can we do?

16

Information saves
lives!

1.When the entire infrastructure
collapse, people get back to the
basics: human interactions and …
Radio and news paper.
1.Building resilient communications
infrastructure and restoring
connectivity should be at the heart of
disaster management planning.
2.Verification and fact checking has
been the job of journalists for years.
Social Media and Internet is not
different.
2.As new humanitarian responders
such as the private sector and
volunteer technical communities
increase, these groups and their tool
should be more integrated within
formal disaster management and
response structures.

Moving Forward
• Security, Privacy and Protection

Moving Forward
• Security, Privacy and Protection
• Creating new processes and new
ways to work with the new actors in
this space

Moving Forward
• Security, Privacy and Protection
• Creating new processes and new
ways to work with the new actors in
this space
• Research, investigate, questions
your assumptions

Moving Forward
• Security, Privacy and Protection
• Creating new processes and new
ways to work with the new actors in
this space
• Research, investigate, questions
your assumptions
• Listen!

Communication is aid
26

Thank you!
anahi ayala iacucci
Senior Innovation advisor &
humanitarian technology advisor
aayala@internews.org
@anahi_ayala
@info_innovation
http://innovation.internews.org