2023 MID-YEAR REPORT

Dear Ushahidi Supporter,

In a world marked by increasing interconnectedness and dynamic challenges, Ushahidi stands as a beacon of hope and innovation. As we look back on the first half of 2023, it's an opportunity for us reflect on the impactful contributions made by Ushahidi in empowering communities through citizen-generated data. At the forefront of harnessing the power of crowdsourcing to bridge gaps, save lives, and create lasting change, our Mid-Year Report encapsulates a journey of resilience, collaboration, and technology-driven solutions that continue to reshape how we reach and raise marginalized voices. 

Welcome to Ushahidi's Mid-Year Report.

GROWING OUR IMPACT

Ushahidi continues to lead the charge in redefining disaster management and fostering collaboration, thereby strengthening community bonds. Through the power of citizen journalism, communities demonstrate resilience in adversity. Our Platform's collaborative capabilities unite organizations and volunteers, breaking down silos and transforming response efforts into a community-driven force for systemic change:

Turkey-Syria Earthquake

No matter the area around the world hit by an earthquake or other kind of emergency, effective help often comes from the immediate community. Ushahidi collaborated with Hayata Destek (Support to Life) — a grassroots humanitarian organization working in Türkiye and Syria that provided WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) studies in affected areas, as well as mental and psychosocial support to children and adults in the aftermath of the unfortunate events. Ushahidi’s support to Hayata Destek included helping to visualize data, provide real-time reporting, and facilitate collaboration among responders. The Ushahidi deployment created by Hayata Destek collated reports from phone calls to people on the ground. These reports were tagged with relevant information, such as the location of the event and the type of damage that occurred. On the Ushahidi platform, these were displayed as reports on a map to help visualize the earthquake's impact. This was particularly useful for Hayata Destek and response partners to prioritize their response efforts based on the most pressing needs.

Collective Mapping for Data-Driven Flood Mitigation in Indonesia

“Floods in Central Kalimantan Damage 4,000 Homes”

“Heavy Rain Triggers Deadly Landslide in Riau Islands”

“Sumatra Island Floods Leave 3 Dead and 15,000 Homes Damaged”

“Fatalities After Floods and Landslides in 8 Provinces”

The above are some of the unrelenting news headlines pertaining to the flood crisis in Indonesia. According to the World Bank, Indonesia is ranked in the top third of countries in terms of climate risk, with high exposure to all types of flooding and extreme heat. The intensity of these hazards is expected to grow as the climate changes. Without effective adaptation, population exposure will also rise. For example, the population exposed to an extreme river flood could grow by 1.4 million by 2035–2044. 

Specifically to floods, Indonesia has the third highest absolute population exposure to flood risk, where 76 million people or 27 per cent of its population, are prone to flooding, with a lack of efficient drainage being responsible for much of the flooding issues. Lakes play a vital role in reducing floods through their storage capacity, whereas any area shrinkage or loss can amplify the damage for nearby communities. Thus UNDP, in partnership with the Project Management Office (PMO) of the Jakarta metropolitan area, otherwise known as Jabodetabekpunjur, and the Indonesian OpenStreetMap Association (POI), has taken to developing mitigation interventions. One involved citizens in optimizing sociocultural capital, local solutions and nature-based infrastructure.

Ushahidi Deployment

Thus, with over 200 natural and artificial lakes within the Jabodetabekpunjur area, our Ushahidi Platform was used to collect qualitative information on the physical aspects of the city’s lakes and qualitative insights from nearby communities through surveys. Our technology was preferred to ensure transparency and access to information for the public. The initiative's outputs strengthened coordinated flood mitigation efforts by informing lake governance and the government’s existing data to identify the lakes’ ability to store water during floods. Further, as women are disproportionately affected by disasters - including floods - moving forward, it is crucial to ensure their representation to develop effective solutions. Hence the exercise also aimed to identify gaps and opportunities for women to maintain the lakes’ functions in the long run. Here’s a summation clip of the project:

SHOWCASING OUR IMPACT

Digital Public Goods Combating Information Pollution Award

The threat of online mis- and disinformation is one of the most significant challenges facing democracy, human rights, and social cohesion today. As part of their campaign in support of the Nobel Prize Summit “Truth, Trust and Hope,” a global conversation on countering misinformation and disinformation and building trust in science, The Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in February, launched a global call with the goal of discovering and highlighting innovative open-source solutions that promote information integrity, especially in fragile or conflict-prone contexts. 

We are thrilled to share that Ushahidi was recognized for our efforts in combating mis- and disinformation. It is with immense gratitude and pride that we receive this recognition for our open-source tool's contribution in tackling information pollution and empowering communities worldwide.

We are deeply honoured to be acknowledged among eight other esteemed recipients who share our commitment to harnessing technology for the greater good. This recognition reaffirms the importance of our mission and the impact we have made in transforming the way information is managed and disseminated. Ushahidi was born out of a belief in the power of collective action and the need for accurate, real-time information. Our platform's success is a testament to the dedication and resilience of the countless individuals, communities, and organizations who have embraced Ushahidi as a tool to bridge gaps, save lives, and build stronger, more resilient societies through citizen-generated data.  

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Digital Public Goods Alliance and UNDP for their invaluable support and recognition. This award is a powerful reminder of the collective effort and collaboration that drives positive and systemic change. We are grateful for the platform provided to us to amplify our mission and inspire others to join us in our pursuit of a more informed and connected world. We devote this award to our global users, partners, volunteers and dedicated team members who work tirelessly to make Ushahidi a reality. Your unwavering commitment, passion, and expertise is the driving force behind our achievements.

It is a privilege to be recognized alongside the visionary leaders and initiatives shaping the digital public goods landscape. Moving forward, we are committed to leveraging this honour as a catalyst for greater impact as we continue to stand firm in our commitment to harness the power of technology and collaboration to build a more resilient and inclusive world.

Here’s a brief of Ushahidi as showcased at the Summit:

World Economic Forum

The world faces a critical juncture with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine rattling an already brittle global system. Economic growth is stalling, accompanied by rising food and energy prices. Global disequilibrium emerges as growth and inflation move in opposite directions, compounded by fragmentation, financial vulnerabilities, and the climate crisis. Against this unprecedented backdrop, the World Economic Forum convened its 53rd Annual Meeting on the theme, “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”, in January to emphasise the importance of dialogue and public-private cooperation in addressing these interconnected challenges and driving positive, long-term change.​​

Drawing on the climate change thread, we bring your attention to one of the sessions, “The Earth Data Revolution”: The world produces more than 100 terabytes of earth observation data daily. The volume and variety of datasets and the speed and veracity in which data is received will transform how we analyse information, set policies and make decisions. Our Executive Director was a panellist, and she spoke about the promising possibilities and partnerships to harness data for climate insights and action.

Ushahidi's Angela Oduor Lungati shared the stage with Dava Newman from MIT Media Lab and Will Marshall from Planet

The Tech Interactive 

We are overjoyed to announce that Ushahidi was awarded as the Tech for Global Good Laureate by The Tech Interactive! This award came in 2022, but it's never too late to celebrate, right? You can read more about all the laureates here. During the extraordinary award ceremony that took place two months ago, our Executive Director passionately shared the immense power of our open-source platform. We are humbled and proud to be recognized for our unwavering commitment to leveraging technology for positive change. This accolade fuels our passion to continue developing innovative solutions that amplify marginalized voices, safeguard human rights, and drive social transformation. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to The Tech Interactive for this incredible honor and to our remarkable team and community for their unwavering support. Together, we will forge a future where every individual has a platform to share their story and where justice and equality prevail. A special shoutout to NetApp for hosting and sponsoring us for this event.

Mid-Year Fundraising Campaign

Our Mid-Year Fundraising Campaign, "Equity Amplified: Advancing Truth and Data for a Just Society," launched in June, as our invitation to you and other Ushahidi supporters to join us on a transformative journey. At Ushahidi, we are going beyond data collection to unleash its power to reshape our world. Check out our socials at the bottom of this report to see how we are rethinking our understanding of citizen-generated data in amplifying the voices of marginalized groups worldwide. For this campaign and onwards, we recently partnered with Double the Donation - an automated matching gift platform that integrates with donation pages and CRMs to identify match-eligible donors and gets them to submit their requests. Here's a quick video overview. If you're interested in growing your matching gifts, consider learning more about DTD's 360MatchPro platform or contact us at comms@ushahidi.com. 

ENABLING OUR IMPACT

We continue to invest in research, innovation and partnerships to enhance the capabilities of our platform, making it more intuitive, accessible, user-friendly, and responsive to the evolving needs of communities globally. Thus:

It's time to unveil the groundbreaking strides made with "Project Mzima," our ambitious effort to modernize The Ushahidi Platform. We are thrilled to share the remarkable progress with all of you, our valued community. "Project Mzima" represents a pivotal moment in our journey as we revamp our codebase to empower developers and elevate user experience. Our mission is simple yet profound: to create a robust, efficient, and visually captivating platform. Let's explore some of the some of the exciting changes we've made together:

• On the modernized Platform, adding posts is now more intuitive and user-friendly than ever before. We've cleaned up the view and made it easy for anyone to submit a report. This means that people can now share their experiences more easily, and organizations can respond to critical events in real-time.

• With our improved submission process, you can now add images and embed YouTube and Vimeo videos to your reports, making them even more impactful and informative. It is now easier than ever to submit reports, with a cleaner and more intuitive view that anyone can use.

And for the techies among us:

• We've built a brand-new repository from scratch, using the latest versions of Angular and Material design. This means our Platform is faster and more intuitive than ever before. And we've also deprecated our platform-pattern-library, which was holding us back from creating the best possible user experience.

• We've also created a well-defined API SDK layer for version 5 of the Platform REST API. This makes it easier for developers to build powerful integrations and applications using Ushahidi's technology.

With these and more updates, we're making it easier than ever for people worldwide to report on the issues that matter to them. Whether it's a crisis or a community issue, we want to empower everyone to make a difference. Join us in our mission and see how our Platform can help you make a positive impact in your community!

DIRECTING OUR IMPACT

We cannot achieve meaningful and long-lasting change without knowledge based on inclusive and truthful data.

Credit: Digital Promise

We cannot get a truly rich understanding of some of the world’s most pressing problems because of three main problems: 

• Lack of data equity: Data equity ensures fair treatment, equal opportunity, and access to information and resources. 

• The world is data-rich but insight poor. It is still challenging to extract insights promptly for it to be valuable.

• Lies are spreading six times faster than truth in this digital age. Our data ecosystem is being corrupted by dis/mal/misinformation. And it is difficult for us to build policies based on a corrupted data ecosystem.

Our Executive Director was appointed to the Global Futures Council on Data Equity, which serves as a brain trust for leaders from government, business and civil society, and supports WEF’s mission by bringing together experts bound by a shared mission to discuss the most critical issues, generate insights and analysis, and collaborate in shaping agendas. Specifically to tackle the downstream impact of data given the world’s increasing turn to data to address urgent global challenges. Their goal is to ensure safer and more robust data ecosystems for all.

With the validation of this appointment, we, as Ushahidi, are committed to increasing the depth and width of our understanding of citizen-generated data through a new data strategy. Imagine the possibilities if we could:

• Integrate citizen-generated data with some of the traditional “official” datasets, and how much richer our understanding of various social issues would be. 

• Make sure AI models are trained on datasets representing marginalized and vulnerable groups.

• Empower people to focus on what the data they’ve collected is saying; rather than spending time cleaning, organizing, and managing it at scale.

• And so much more…

We cannot do this alone. 

We extend a heartfelt invitation to you, our valued Ushahidi partners, to join us in our cause to ensure data equity. In these turbulent times, the power of data has never been more apparent, and we firmly believe that a strategic approach to data management can unlock immense potential for positive and systemic change.

Let us come together to leverage our collective expertise, knowledge, and resources to build a data-driven ecosystem that is both secure and ethical. Through collaboration and innovation, we can ensure that the data we collect is used responsibly, protecting privacy while maximizing its potential to drive informed decision-making and targeted interventions.

As partners, your unique perspectives and experiences are invaluable in shaping this data strategy. We encourage you to share insights, contribute ideas, and actively participate in the implementation process. Together, we can create a data-driven future that prioritizes inclusivity, transparency, and the greater good. Join us on this transformative journey as we harness the power of data to build a more resilient and equitable world. Together, we can pave the way for evidence-based solutions and empower communities to thrive in the face of adversity.

Thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our cause,

Your friends at Ushahidi.