The United Nations has officially activated the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHN) in response to Typhoon Ruby. The DHN serves as the official interface between formal humanitarian organizations and digital volunteer groups from all around the world. These digital volunteers—also known as Digital Jedis— provide humanitarian organizations like the UN and the Red Cross with the “surge” capacity they need to make sense of the “Big Data” that gets generated during disasters. This “Big Data” includes large volumes of social media reports and satellite imagery, for example. And there is a lot of this data being generated right now as a result of Super Typhoon Ruby.
To make sense of this flash flood of information, Digital Jedis use crowdsourcing platforms like MicroMappers, which was developed in partnership with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In their activation of the Digital Humanitarian Network, the UN has requested that Digital Jedis look for Ruby-related tweets that refer to needs, damage & response efforts. They have also asked digital volunteers to identify pictures of damage caused by the Typhoon. These tweets and pictures will then to be added to a live crisis map to augment the UN’s own disaster damage and needs assessment efforts.
You too can be a Digital Jedi. Trust me, MicroMappers is far easier to use than a lightsaber. All it takes is a single Click of the mouse. Yes, it really is that simple. So, if a Digital Jedi you want to be, let your first Click be this one! Following that click will set you on the path to help the United Nation’s important relief efforts in the Philippines. So if you’ve got a bit of time on your hands—even 2 minutes goes a long way—then help us make a meaningful difference in the world, join the Force! And may the Crowd be with Us!
See also: Digital Humanitarians – The Path of the Digtal Jedis
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