The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia was established in 2005 as part of the country’s transition of bloody civil war into an emerging democracy. Considering the mass destruction of basic services and infrastructure, however, lack of physical access to the capital of Monrovia for many Liberians has posed a serious obstacle to the objective of the Commission. A solution has come from an unlikely source in Atlanta, Georgia, thanks to some creative technological innovations.
Author: Caitlin Turner
Caitlin Turner is a graduate student at the Institute of Conflict Analysis and
Resolution, George Mason University. Through her thesis work, Caitlin hopes to bring attention to the ways in which social media can promote sustainable peace, encourage mobilization and foster social change. The first time Caitlin truly became interested in conflict issues was at the University of Calgary where she obtained her BA in Urban Studies and developed an affinity for flash mobs and Robert Putnam. In recent years, she has carved out a niche as a blogger and hopes to carry this momentum forward bringing a unique voice to complex issues.
We live in the age of data. Open source software, content aggregation software, GPS and mobile technology have changed the way in which we collect, interpret and analyze the magnitude of data.
There are no ATMs, the countries currency is unrecognized without an official exchange rate, and every American dollar translates into 17, 000 Somaliland Shillings. With all of this, Somaliland is on track to become a cashless society. Some may argue this is out of necessity and others argue it’s because of ingenuity; most likely it’s both. (more…)
The SXSW Interactive conference, held in Austin Texas, is five days of undeniably awesome presentations from the brightest minds about up-and-coming technology. There are also numerous networking events hosted by industry leaders, and special programming to showcase innovative ideas that the international community has to offer.
Sitting in the 140conference in Washington, something got my attention. Or should I say someone. His name is Blake Hall, co-founder of TroopSwap, a recent Harvard Graduate and Army Captain. Initially, he just made me feel inadequate, and then he started his presentation by saying: “ I was asked here to speak about Enterprise 2.0 and the military”. As any good conference attendee would, I instantly Googled the term Enterprise 2.0. Half expecting to see a page full of Star Trek references, I was instantly surprised about how big of a deal this concept is.
With the help of Leonardo DiCaprio, we know what blood diamonds are. And now, thanks to the Enough Project, we are starting to know more about conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are generally defined as: “minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, notably in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda”.