{"64004":{"#nid":"64004","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Best on Peacebuilding in the Information Age: Sifting Hype from Reality","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n\u0022Peacebuilding in the Information Age: Sifting Hype from Reality\u0022 ~ The ICT4Peace Foundation, in collaboration with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and Georgia Tech, is pleased to release, on the occasion of the anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the first in a series of papers looking at the increasingly important role of information and communication technology (ICT) in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, peacekeeping and crisis response. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E**Download the report \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ict4peace.org\/updates\/peacebuilding-in-the-information-age-sifting-hype-from-reality\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMichael Best is an editor of \u0022Peacebuilding in the Information Age: Sifting Hype from Reality\u0022.  Dr. Best is the Program Director for the Center for Strategy, Technology, and Policy (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cistp.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECISTP\u003C\/a\u003E) Program on Information and Communications Technologies for Development (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cistp.gatech.edu\/programs\/infocomm-technology-development\/\u0022\u003EICT4 Development\u003C\/a\u003E).  This program explores information and communication technologies (ICTs) - in particular the internet and mobile networks - in low-income and low-infrastructure countries and contexts. Dr. Best is also the Editor-in-Chief, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/itidjournal.org\/itid\u0022\u003EInformation Technologies \u0026amp; International Development\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis collection of thought provoking pieces includes esteemed writers such as former Finnish President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Martti Athisaari, as well as a younger generation of cutting edge practitioners and scholars in this fast moving space.  Unlike other papers on innovative technologies dealing with crisis response, reconstruction and humanitarian aid, this collection aims to encourage meaningful debate and action on how to solve the serious challenges that still exist in the effective use of ICTs. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDaniel Stauffacher (Co-Founder and Chairman of ICT4Peace Foundation) states, \u0022There has been solid progress in improving the international community\u0027s response to crises through the effective use of innovative ICTs in crisis information management. However, there is still a long road ahead. In particular, we need to focus on how to extract and use verified information from crowdsourced data. The right mechanisms and tools for effective and coordinated crisis information management still need to be developed and refined.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGoing beyond the current debate and positive hype about ICTs, these papers probe difficult questions and provides concrete recommendations concerning:\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 the effectiveness of current systems of crisis information management;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the need for a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the use of ICTs in crisis response by the academic community;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the need for better coordinative mechanisms amongst the key players, including the UN and its various agencies;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the humanitarian responsibility of various actors, in particular new players such as crowdsourcing providers and social media;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the serious challenges that still need to be overcome in terms of underlying political, hierarchical and traditional resistance to information-sharing amongst diverse organizations;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the negative potential of ICTs in compromising the security of persons at risk in conflict situations;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the lessons learned from the earthquake in Haiti on the use of new ICTs in disaster response situations and,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2022 the big picture of what this shift to an ICT-focused approach really means for existing humanitarian response systems.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ICT4Peace Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University and Georgia Tech, is pleased to release the first in a series of papers looking at the increasingly important role of information and communication technology (ICT) in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, peacekeeping and crisis response.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The important role of information and communication technology (ICT)"}],"uid":"27184","created_gmt":"2011-02-01 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:06","author":"Jene Gladstone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"64005":{"id":"64005","type":"image","title":"Assistant Professor Michael Best","body":null,"created":"1449176720","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:20","changed":"1475894561","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:41","alt":"Assistant Professor Michael Best","file":{"fid":"191913","name":"tmh92043.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tmh92043_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tmh92043_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":26712,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tmh92043_0.jpg?itok=ea4fimm1"}},"64006":{"id":"64006","type":"image","title":"ICT for Peace Foundation","body":null,"created":"1449176720","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:20","changed":"1475894561","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:41","alt":"ICT for Peace Foundation","file":{"fid":"191914","name":"tfz92177.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tfz92177_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tfz92177_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":43775,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tfz92177_0.jpg?itok=7y9vUnhS"}}},"media_ids":["64005","64006"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ict4peace.org\/updates\/peacebuilding-in-the-information-age-sifting-hype-from-reality","title":"Read full paper"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.inta.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/listing.php?uID=1","title":"Michael Best Faculty Profile"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cistp.gatech.edu\/programs\/infocomm-technology-development\/","title":"CISTP\u0027s Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4 Development)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2671","name":"best"},{"id":"795","name":"CISTP"},{"id":"999","name":"IAC"},{"id":"4662","name":"ict"},{"id":"851","name":"INTA"},{"id":"907","name":"Michael Best"},{"id":"11799","name":"Peace"},{"id":"11798","name":"The ICT4Peace Foundation"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAngela Levin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECISTP\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=al101\u0022\u003EContact Angela Levin\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3199\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Angela.Levin@inta.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}