A Tool for Activists Is Simplified for the Less Tech Savvy

Software that has been hailed as a powerful tool in response to crisis has become accessible for low-tech activists. Ushahidi, a technology which allows users to create maps from data drawn from messages from cell phones, news reports and the Web, is now available through a Web-based application called Crowdmap. Ushahidi was built in the violent aftermath of the 2007 Kenyan elections, after a group of developers responded to a call for a platform that would allow people to post accounts of violence anonymously. (The name means testimony in Swahili). The platform plots reports it receives on a map, drawing attention to individual accounts and giving an overall sense of the situation.