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Tactic: SMS/Map Mashup Protects Human Rights in Kenya
Written by Mary Joyce on January 10, 2008 – 11:03 pm -Description: Ushahidi.com is a Kenyan web site that records reports of violence sent by SMS and e-mail on a Google Earth map. It provides living testimony to the atrocities committed following the recent presidential elections in that country. (”Ushahidi” means “testimony” in Kiswahili.)
Organizer: The idea for the Ushahidi web site was created by the bloggers behind KenyanPundit.com, WhiteAfrican.com, MentalAcrobatics.com, AfroMusing.com, and Skunkworks and was built by developer David Kobia.
Purpose of Action: To create a visual map of human rights abuses.
Organizing Tools: SMS, Google Earth, web site
Outcome: A political resolution to the election crisis has not yet been reached.
Ease of Replication: Replicating the Ushahidi map is rather difficult, as it is actually a mash-up of SMS messages and a Google map. You will need a developer friend to make it. However, other digital map applications, like Frappr, are quite easy to use.
Tags: africa, google, googleearth, kenya, mobile, SMS, subsaharanafrica
Posted in Mashups, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tactics | 1 Comment »