A year after the tsunami and Katrina: What technologies will relief teams use in the next response?

Silicon Valley Sim Day – September 19
See Sim Day Blog, with photos and comments from participants

On the left, an actual humanitarian relief communications center in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in 2005.  On the right, a wireless comm center set up and staffed by tech volunteers at Silicon Valley Sim Day.

Diamond Sponsor Participating Organizations

The Silicon Valley Sim Day on September 19 was a tremendous success and a stellar example of how volunteers, small nonprofits, business partners, and tech experts can collaborate - not just for a demo or exercise, but in an emergency as well. As at the Portland Sim Day in June, the teamwork was extraordinary, especially given the fact that few of the participants had worked together before.

To bring humanitarian and nonprofit managers up to date on ICTs* that could help their teams in a disaster response or crisis, HumaniNet, in partnership with Telenor , Inveneo, TechReach International, and other nonprofit organizations, organized the Silicon Valley Sim Day to demonstrate proven technologies in a simulated field environment.

Sim Day featured:

• A crisis communications center that utilized satellite communications, low-power computers, and wireless networks that provided Internet access and voice communications.
• Speakers on such topics as emergency response capacity building, "situational awareness" tools for managing critical information in relief conditions, and technologies designed for austere environments and underserved communities.
• Demonstrations of successful applications that have potential for nonprofit users, including project management tools, VoIP, blogging, podcasts, distributing photography from the field, and new ways to mobilize support and get the message out.

Tech experts and many interested in volunteering gathered at the Intuit campus in Mountain View , California , on an ideal sunny afternoon that was far removed from typical disaster scenes. But the conversations, networking, and exchange of ideas were clearly beneficial to the attendees – and the participating teams are better prepared to assist when required.

Everyone involved did a great job on this event. Clearly there's an interest in this kind of confederation of clever disaster services assistance.  Congrats to all the volunteers.

Mark Bauhaus, Green WiFi

Click here for the list of participants and the Sim Day presentations

*ICT = information and communications technologies.