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Phase: Inspiration Missions: Tools of Awareness

Shortwave Radio

It would be possible to distribute shortwave radios to local populations that transmitted to USAID or another organization when the civilians felt threatened.

Photo of Alex Patow
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Shortwave Radio (Wikipedia) Shortwave Radio (Wikipedia)
If a series of shortwave radios were distributed to regions in conflict it would be easy for USAID to listen in on to what was happening in the area without the use of internet, mobile phones, or journalists. It could even go further as to alerting the surrounding areas that violence was reported in the area. It could be as easy as having a "panic" button on the radio that transmitted a code to USAID with the location of the sensor. This would eliminate the need for a person to broadcast their location while fleeing violence, when every second counts. It could also be used to broadcast natural disasters or political news. 

This inspired (1)

The Fataki Campaign
The Fataki Campaign

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Photo of Anne-Laure Fayard

Hi Alex,

interesting idea that would be great to develop in the concepting phase.
You might find some of these inspirations relevant as you develop your idea:
http://www.openideo.com/open/usaid-humanity-united/inspiration/mobile-radio
http://www.openideo.com/open/usaid-humanity-united/inspiration/cans-community-alert-networks-in-drc/

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