Ushahidi

Ushahidi was first developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election period at the beginning of 2008. The Ushahidi Engine used the lessons learned from Kenya to create a platform designed to allow anyone around the world to set up their own way to gather reports by mobile phone, email, and/or the web, and to map them. According to the organisers, the core platform allows plug-ins and extensions so that the tool can be customised for different locales and needs.

Free software called FrontlineSMS turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a text-broadcasting hub. As a short message service (SMS), or text message, is sent from a hot zone, the message syncs with the Ushahidi software and shows up in a worldwide web administrator's in-box. This person can decide to send a text message back to the sender to verify the information, send out a blast alert to large numbers of people, or post the information on a web page with location information from Google Maps (or he or she can do all three). FrontlineSMS provides phone numbers in areas where the larger SMS gateways do not operate.

According to the organisers, the development of Ushahidi for Kenya was an ad hoc coming together of bloggers, activists, and humanitarian organisations. The Ushahidi Engine has since been deployed in several pilot project areas:

• South Africa - The United For Africa website was set up using the Ushahidi tool to track incidents of xenophobic violence which erupted in South Africa in May 2008. Along with mapping incidents of violence, the website offered information about how and where to make donations of food, clothing, etc.
• Kenya - The Kenya Unsung Peace Heroes campaign was developed by Butterfly Works and Media Focus on Africa Foundation to nominate and recognise people who helped do positive things during and after the post-election violence in Kenya.
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - The DRC Ushahidi project began on November 7 2008, just a week after the release of the alpha version of the Ushahidi Engine software. This website tracks incidents of violence and also offers news bulletins and articles written by journalists.

The Ushaidi Engine is a collaborative effort by bloggers and programmers. A developer wiki helps to organise tasks. The Ushahidi blog is designed to provide ongoing updates about the development of Ushaidi.

Conflict, Emergencies, Technology

Ushahidi plans to make the Ushahidi mapping tool available globally for free. After initial testing with non-governmental organisations, the tool will be distributed to interested parties and organisations, and the Ushahidi team will provide technical customisations and support as needed.

In September 2008, Ushahidi was awarded a Special Distinction Award at the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism.