Australian Civil-Military Centre Communication and Complex Emergencies Project (Phase 1)
The role that media and communication have played in the ‘Arab Spring' uprisings that have occurred over the past two years reveals an important transformation in the way that people and organisations in conflict-affected contexts communicate, organise themselves and link to the wider world.
Consequently, there is strong international interest in understanding the role and potential of communication (social media included) in the context of conflict, humanitarian emergencies and disaster-risk reduction. Building on earlier work supported by DFID (2000) and AusAID (2012) on the role of communication for development (C4D) in fragile states, this project will examine the role of social media in complex emergencies, as well as the broader role that communication plays in support of humanitarian interventions.
Outputs
Output 1 - This paper is an annotated bibliography that covers: (i) the use of social networks and social media for social action; and (ii) their use in processes of humanitarian assistance. The section on social action looks at the Arab Spring and covers citizen use of social media and networking, while the section on humanitarian assistance looks at outcome focused use of social media and networking, i.e. in support of conflict reduction, humanitarian assistance and disaster mitigation.
Social Networking, Social Media and Complex Emergencies: An Annotated Bibliography
Output 2 - This paper addressed a range of issues associated with the role of social media an networking in promoting citizen action and also its use by hum,anitarianm organisations. The paper focuses on issues such as collective action, crisisi mapping, crowdsourcing and wikis.
Social Networking, Social Media and Complex Emergencies: an Issues Paper
Output 3 - This paper provdies a broad overview of the role of communication in humanitarian emergencies and focuses on a range of case studies and humanitarian communication principles. In doing so it points readers to a widwe range of complimntary practical resources.