Full Circle Associates

In the (belated) spirit of ThanksGiving, check out this piece on Peace:Information and Communication Technology for Peace: The Role of ICT in Preventing,Responding to and Recovering from Conflict(application/pdf Object).

By Daniel Stauffacher, William Drake, Paul Currion and Julia Steinberger

Preface by Kofi Annan

Annan's intro:

As the underpinning for early warning systems, ICTs are crucial in weatherforecasting and in building resilient communities better able to respond to humanitarian emergencies. When disaster does strike, ICTs are helping us to better coordinate complex relief missions. This role has taken on even greater significance in the past year, following the Indian Ocean tsunami, hurricanerelated
flooding in Central America and a devastating earthquake in Pakistan.

ICTs are also critical tools in peacekeeping operations, including in logistics. Moreover, ICTs can help address the root causes of violent conflict. By promoting access to knowledge, they can promote mutual understanding, an essential factor in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconciliation. ICTs also offers ways to reveal human rights abuses, promote transparent governance, and give people living under repressive regimes access to uncensored information and an outlet to air their grievances and appeal for help.

The technology by itself is no panacea or magic formula. Political will is required to respond to information, to share it widely and equitably, and to ensure global dissemination of ICTs. In that context, I strongly welcome the initiative taken by the Government of Switzerland to study the role of science and technology in advancing our work for peace. This report showcases many instances of actors coming together to use technology to prevent, stop and remedy man-made disasters. It also offers valuable policy recommendations covering such key issues as trust, security, inter-agency coordination, best practices and common standards. I commend the
information and analysis contained here to a wide global audience.

Categories: nptech, ict4dev, ECB