Relief 2.0 or disaster relief 2.0 is the deployment of

digital information Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of Discrete mathematics, discrete symbols, each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet (formal languages ...

techniques in the management of

disaster relief Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

History

The first large-scale use of modern digital information techniques was by technology experts and volunteers responding to the Katrina disaster in 2005 in the USA. Further notable developments came in the disasters that followed, in particular the 7.0MW earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 and the 9.0MW earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. In Japan, a disaster relief organization was created under the name "Relief 2.0".

Academia involvement

Following the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a group of fellows, academics, technology experts and emergency response volunteers organized a Relief 2.0 workshop at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in February 2010 to collect and organize the lessons learned in the field in Haiti. These lessons were further researched and worked on at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

Entrepreneurship Centre in collaboration with the Stanford University Peace Innovation Laboratory and later tested in the field in the

Tōhoku Region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of Japan after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. The findings were presented at

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu. Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and resear ...

in Fukuoka, Japan in April 2010 during the TEDxEarthquake9.0 conference.

International organization reports

In April 2011, the report "Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Humanitarian Information Sharing" report was presented at the US Mission to the UN in New York."Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Humanitarian Information Sharing"
UN OCHA It was prepared by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, in cooperation with the

United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turn ...

Vodafone Foundation Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

and the

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters ...

(UN OCHA). This report highlighted the role of mass participation using

mobile communication Mobile telephony is the provision of wireless telephone services to mobile phones, distinguishing it from fixed-location telephony provided via landline phones. Traditionally, telephony specifically refers to voice communication, though th ...

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and

crisis mapping Crisis mapping (also known as disaster mapping) is the real-time gathering, display and analysis of data during a crisis, usually a natural disaster or social/political conflict (violence, elections, etc.). Crisis mapping projects usually allow ...

to pinpoint the most urgent needs following a disaster.

Tools

There are a number of tools, toolkits and specific platforms available and used in the practice of Relief 2.0, including

Ushahidi Ushahidi is an open source software application that collates and maps data using user-generated reports. It uses the concept of crowdsourcing serving as an initial model for what has been coined as "activist mapping" – the combination of soc ...

Crowdmap, Frontline SMS,

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

Sahana FOSS Disaster Management System Sahana Software Foundation is a Los Angeles, California-based non-profit organization founded to promote free and open-source software (FOSS) for disaster and emergency management. The foundation's mission statement is to "save lives by providing ...

and

Crisis Maps A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

Private groups

Several private, government funded and non-profit groups have emerged in recent years to advance the practice of Relief 2.0, increase preparedness and the effectiveness of disaster response at a local and a global level. These include
Crisis Mappers

Standby Task ForceSempo
Digital Humanitarian Network and Relief 2.0 Inc.

References