18 Jan 09:16: Please can someone find some help for my friend 2 children that are alive under their house at 4813 Ruelle Chretien Lalu et Poupla Haiti.

After the earthquake, the text messages came streaming in to 4636. Reports of trapped people, fires, polluted water sources, and requests for food, water and medical supplies. Hundreds of volunteers translated them from Creole and French into English, tagged them with a location and passed them on to aid agencies on the ground. Yet not one of the volunteers was anywhere near Haiti.

The 4636 texting service is part of a new generation of web-based efforts to help disaster relief that has emerged from the revolution in texting, social networking and crowdsourcing. Its impact on the ground is tangible. For example, a Haitian clinic texted 4636 that it was running low on fuel for its generator. Within 20 minutes the Red Cross said it would resupply.

A Haitian clinic texted that it needed fuel for its generator. The Red Cross responded in 20 minutes

4636 is run by a small organisation called Ushahidi.com, originally set up in Kenya to gather reports of violence after the 2008 election. Within days of the earthquake on 12 January that flattened Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and numerous surrounding towns, it had set up a Haitian operation and recruited hundreds of volunteers to help translate messages, many of them Haitians living in the US. The service is free, courtesy of Digicell, Haiti’s largest mobile network operator, which had 70 per cent of its network running within 24 hours of the quake.

Nicolas di Tada, arrived in Haiti soon after the disaster working for Innovative Support to Emergencies Diseases and Disasters (InSTEDD), a nonprofit organisation which looks for ways that technology can help in this kind of scenario. He helped set up 4636 but says that was the easy part. “The challenge was making responders on the ground aware of us.” A stroke of luck made a big difference. One of the first texts was from a hospital which had 200 beds, and doctors, nurses and medical supplies on standby, but no patients, because hardly any relief agencies knew they were there. Forwarding that message on told a large number of organisations about 4636. Now, radio stations help spread the word.

As people generally don’t send messages to say their request has been fulfilled, Ushahidi has no way of knowing how successful it has been. Still, “the system is unprecedented”, says Christopher Csikszentmihalyi, director of the Center for Future Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Other initiatives have harnessed the power and multitude of web users. CrisisCommons has organised thousands of volunteers to improve the map of Haiti available on the open-source site OpenStreetMap. When the disaster struck, the map showed little more than three main roads and a small network of smaller roads. The volunteers used a host of sources, such as satellite images and information from people on the ground, and ended up constructing the most detailed map available, showing the position of hospitals, triage centres and displacement camps.

Government agencies are printing the maps to hand out in the field, and uploading them to mobile GPS units. “The OpenStreetMaps have been our most important resource,” says Robert Munro, a 4636 volunteer and a linguist at Stanford University, California, who analyses the role that text messages play in the developing world. Ushahidi volunteers use them to pinpoint with an accuracy of a few metres the location of 4636 texters.

Specialist volunteers have also been recruited to analyse satellite pictures. ImageCat, a company based in Los Angeles, is being funded by the World Bank to assess the damage – a job that usually takes weeks or months. The firm divided before and after images released by remote-sensing satellite operators into 500-square-metre areas and distributed them to dozens of specialists at universities in the UK, US and Europe. Within a few days, they had identified every collapsed building in Port-au-Prince, around 5000 in total.

The World Bank is using the information to assess the cost of rebuilding in the region. The volunteers are now working on a higher resolution aerial survey carried out last week to categorise the scale of damage to each building.

CrisisCommons is behind many other projects, including one to build a Craig’s List-style “we need, we have” website to link people offering resources to those that need them, and an online database to monitor the capacity of hospitals in real time.

One project has built an online database to monitor the capacity of hospitals in real time

Most impressive of all is that the projects are the result of requests from responders on the ground. That’s crucial, says Vinay Gupta, an energy policy analyst and CrisisCommons volunteer in London. CrisisCommons operates around a wiki page where people and organisations in Haiti post their needs. Requests are picked up by volunteers who answer them according to their skills.

A number of factors have come together to make this a defining moment for the web. One of the most important, says Munro, is the spread of mobile communications infrastructure to the developing world, reflected in the fact that much communication in poorer countries is now by text. New tools for using data transmitted in text messages have emerged in developing countries, run by relatively small companies like Ushahidi. These organisations are able to work quickly using limited resources in difficult conditions, making them well-placed to assist in disaster relief.

Then there’s the social media revolution that allows crowdsourcing to take place. The translators on 4636, most of whom have never met, are continually asking each other’s advice in a chatroom. Twitter has played a big role in relaying news, and many aid agencies log their activities on Facebook. But most of all, it is the knowledge that large-scale activities can be coordinated through online networks that has given individuals and organisations the confidence to collaborate in this way.

None of this is to say that online collaboration has solved the problems of disaster relief. Aid agencies still have a hugely difficult job to do on the ground. Web-based networks cannot fly in food, medicine, fuel and trucks, or drive the supplies around Haiti. What they can provide is a new layer of support. “The truth is that it’s not possible to know how effective we’ve been,” says di Tada. “That’s something we’ll have to work out later.”

(Source:  http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527453.600-how-crowdsourcing-is-helping-in-haiti.html?full=true    27 January 2010 by Justin Mullins)

Dubai: In an attempt to offer more convenient services to the residents, Dubai is moving its government-related services from e-government to m-government.

Since the launch of Dubai e-government seven years ago, all Dubai Government Departments have been increasing e-services. As a result, almost all government-related services have now been made available online.

However, as the world moves towards mobile phone-based applications and services, there has been a growing need for m-commerce and m-services for people on the move, to access information and services.

At the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) 2009 government departments are showcasing their newest e- and m-services.

Mobile phones are used by a much wider spectrum of the public than the internet which requires a certain level of computer literacy.

In line with its strategy to facilitate access to its services and to simplify procedures for all residents, Dubai Police, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) have unveiled new mobile services at Gitex 2009.

SMS notification is one of the services used by all government institutions to inform clients about the status of their applications, records and new procedures and services offered by them.

Dubai Police

As part of a greater programme to simplify procedures, the Dubai Police seek to make mobile phones a delivery channel for its services to clients.

Ahmad Qaied, Computer Programmer and Analyst at Dubai Police, told Gulf News: “Recent statistics show millions of mobile users in the UAE have access to the internet through the mNet service which is supported even while roaming worldwide.

“Dubai residents are able to check or pay their traffic fines and fees by mobile phone through the mPay or Star Service ( *123#).”

However, to use all traffic services, Qaied said users are urged to register by inputting their traffic data accurately on the subscription page.

Also Dubai Police have a programme “Take care about the victim”, an SMS service which sends a regular follow-up notification to the victims about the status of complaints they filed with the police.

Residency

The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department is providing a new mobile phone-enabled service that lets users download a visa.

It is one of the latest innovations DNRD unveiled during Gitex 2009.

Director of DNRD’s IT Project Management, First Lieutenant Khalid Bin Mediya Al Falasi, said: “This service is very helpful for everyone as they can check visa status, rules for new residency visas and transactions from anywhere using your own mobile.”

The DNRD found that there was no better alternative other than for mobile phones to be a way to ease service delivery, he added.

However, one must first register for this service with the DNRD.

Mobile phones will be used by visitors to enter Dubai.

“Through the M-visa, visitors, residents and guests residing in Dubai and abroad will receive instant notification via e-mail and text messages upon issuance of their entry permits or visas of all types.”

“When their visa is issued, the user will be notified through an e-mail message with an original e-visa document, bearing the DNRD logo and signature of the director,” he said.

The secure PDF file will prevent any tampering with the details of the visitor.

RTA

Now people are able to pay their car parking fees via etisalat or du mobile through the mParking service.

This service includes all parking areas in Bur Dubai and will be expanded to all of the city’s districts by the beginning of 2011.

By sending an SMS to 7275 indicating the car plate number, zone number and duration of parking in hours a driver will receive a confirmation message which includes the virtual ticket details.

Al Bastaki said: “RTA also offers the mPay service for Salik but with a pre-registration for the personal details, car plate number and credit card information.”
(source: http://gulfnews.com/business/technology/m-services-to-simplify-things-for-all-1.517675)

Fifty four (54) national government agencies, out of the three twenty four, have short
messaging (SMS) facility to augment traditional public services as of December 2008. These
agencies take advantage of the fact that many Filipinos own cellular phones and the
country’s reputation as the “SMS Capital of the World.”

Services being offered can be as simple as accessing information; sending complaints,
comments, or recommendations; or as fancy as downloading pictures, graphics, or ring
tones; or as specialized as reporting crimes or paying taxes.

The access numbers used by the agencies can be classified into two categories. One is
the regular eleven-digit number and the other a special number usually shorter than eleven
digits. Of the fifty four agencies, about sixty percent (60%) use the special access numbers.
Using special numbers has the convenience of easily remembering the access numbers
such as the three-digit 211 of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) or the eight-digit 700-
NEARE of the National Electrification Administration. But sending SMS messages via
special numbers cost 2.50 pesos while via that of ordinary numbers cost only one peso.

Moreover, subscribers of any of the three local mobile service companies can use the
ordinary eleven-digit access numbers, unlike some of the special numbers that are only
accessible to particular subscribers.

For this report update, the Plans Review and Monitoring Office (PRMO) has used
website visits and telephone interviews. Annex A contains the alphabetical list of NGAs with
SMS facility while Annex B contains the list of formats of the NGA’s SMS facility.
Comments, suggestions and clarifications regarding the study may be sent to Ms. Lorna
M. Sales, Director, PRMO or to Ms. Jocelyn V. Tendenilla, Head, ICT Plans Monitoring
Group, PRMO, via email at ictmonitor@ncc.gov.ph.

Source and detail of the departments can be accessed at: http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/sms_report1208.pdf

According to him, the move is in line with President Mills’ principles of accountability and transparency.

Barely two weeks ago, the Information Ministry introduced a programme where the sector minister, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, and her two deputies, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and James Agyenim Boateng, availed themselves to the general public through the social networking website Facebook as another medium to interact and address the concerns of the general public.

“We think that as the managers of government information, we should be able to interact with people on one-on-one basis so that we will be able to address their issues and take their concerns,” Mr Ablorkwa told the press in an interview.

Mr Ablakwa said in order to make the text facility easier for the general public, the ministry has been in talks with SMS short codes providers for one short code which would be applicable on all the networks.

Messaging through short codes is more expensive in Ghana than the normal texting but Mr Ablorkwa promised an affordable one for the SMS facility.

“We have asked that the rate should not be the commercial rate that they normally charge people who text to such short codes. With this SMS facility, people will be requesting information that would be pointing to government challenges or criticisms; or that are pointing to matters that need to be addressed urgently, so you don’t have to charge people for this,” he said.

Mr Ablakwa stated that the ministry had already discussed that issue with mobile telecommunication companies in the country and they promised to sort themselves out and they would shortly get back to government.

“It is our hope that looking at the success of mobile phone penetration all over the place, we will be able to have this centre here at the Ministry of Information that would run 24 hours where when the text messages arrived they would be viewed on the computer” he said.,

He further explained that, if the message received requires urgent action, the ministry, department or agency; or state institution that must take the action would quickly be called to take action.

(Source: http://www.ghanadot.com/news.ghanadot..091309.html) 13/9/2009