Colloquium: Production and use of information during emergencies: Experience from 2015 Nepal Earthquake

We cordially invite everybody interested to our next open GIScience colloquium talk

The speaker is Dr. Nama Budhathoki
Executive Director of Kathmandu Living Labs

When: Monday 26.03.2018, 14:00 st

Where: INF 348, room 015 (Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University)

Abstract:

Production and use of information during emergencies: Experience from 2015 Nepal Earthquake

Information is one of the most critical infrastructures in times of crisis. Since situation on the ground keeps on rapidly changing, traditional model of information collection and access does not fully meet the needs of  response and relief agencies. Taking the example of 2015 Nepal earthquake, the speaker will share an emerging model of information production, sharing and use in times of complex emergencies. Reflecting upon this experience, he will attempt to outline research agendas to minimize the gap between academia research and practitioners’ needs.
Dr. Budhathoki is the Founder and Executive Director of Kathmandu Living Labs (KLL) – a Kathmandu-based not-for-profit company carrying pioneering work in the fields of Open Mapping and civic technology. KLL’s work after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes is considered a leading example of digital humanitarianism and has received extensive coverage in major media outlets such as The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Forbes, Wired, MyRepublica, Setopati. Under his leadership, the KLL team has developed Nepal’s OpenStreetMap as one of the most thriving digital communities in the developing countries. Nama led the technology and innovation component of the world’s biggest mobile data collection project for National Reconstruction Authority to help them identify housing beneficiaries and plan the reconstruction work. His team also helped National Planning Commission to open this data for public access and use by developing a web portal. Nama’s team is currently working with several local governments to enhance transparency, accountability and civic engagement though digital technology.

Currently HeiGIT/GIScience Heidelberg and KLL are working together to develop an OSM analytics dashboard on OSM history analysis for better understanding the situation with resepct to OSM data quality and it’s evolution in Nepal.

https://ohsome.org/apps/kll-dashboard-preview/

Furthermore, we are working together on an extension of the OpenRouteService for disaster management to facilitate the integration of mobile data collection approaches. This would allow direct engagement of the disaster affected communities on the ground and therefore more dynamic updating of the routing service in disaster scenarios.