New technologies of communication allow new types of action and partnership between social movements in Colombia and international NGOs, who support them in claiming their rights or in denouncing abuses. International cooperation and advocacy have allowed the suffering of victims to be seen by the outside world and have led to justice being done and reparations being made.
In today’s world, ‘protection’ cannot be complete without access to technology. We must use new tools and technologies to empower refugees, given the importance of the internet, social media and distance learning. In recognition of this, UNHCR is striving to ensure that access to technology – primarily, the internet, mobile phones and solar lights – is strongly incorporated into its protection and operations model.
UNHCR has been investigating collecting data using smartphone technology for many areas of its operations such as site assessments and refugee profiling. In 2010 it carried out a pilot to assess the advantages and disadvantages – including feasibility, cost, time and human resources – of using mobile phones compared to existing paper-based data collection for a mosquito net coverage survey in Dadaab in Kenya.
The Refugee Law Project (RLP) in Uganda has set up an internet café to enable refugees in Uganda to link up with family and friends back home and those resettled to other countries, to help them to keep in touch with conditions in their countries of origin, as well as to allow free access to the world-wide web more generally.
Nearly 75,000 refugees were resettled in the United States in 2009. Volunteer resettlement agencies across the country offer extensive support services to help refugees settle into US society – such as English and job-training classes, social and community events, and youth programmes.
We have all benefitted from the remarkable global transformation brought about by the work of engineers and innovators. What was once science fiction is today commonplace. None of this would have occurred had there not been engineers and companies motivated by the challenge of the problem paired with the potential for commercial gain. Meeting the needs of refugees and other marginalised people, however, requires us to find ways to attract crucial engineering problem-solvers to humanitarian work where the profit motive is not a primary driver.