Only 38 tickets left to CrisisCamp DC!

[Heather Blanchard]

CrisisCamp DC is part of a global movement who is bringing together volunteers, academia, non-profits, companies and government officials to share best practices and lessons learned to advocate for further use of technology and telecommunications to assist citizens and communities during crisis.

Founded in March 2009 through an impromptu Tweetup at the Government 2.0 Camp, a small band of idealists and innovators gathered together to discuss the idea of a creating a common community through a mash-up of citizen volunteers, crisis response organizations, international humanitarian relief, non-profits and the private sector (especially the technology and telecommunications sectors). Within minutes, CrisisCamp DC was born to unite communities, seek common ground and innovation in the use of technology and mobility during crisis.
CrisisCamp DC inspired volunteers in the United Kingdom to create CrisisCamp UK. Both CrisisCamps will be held Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, 2009 and will hold live joint sessions to encourage international cooperation and coordination. In addition, there are volunteers from countries such as Canada and Australia will be participating at CrisisCamp through live video chat.

Potential CrisisCamp DC & CrisisCamp UK sessions include breaking down the bifurcation between international humanitarian relief and domestic crisis response, harnessing mobile platforms for social change, the use of social media to connect with citizens/customers during crisis, open source software development and volunteer technical expertise for crisis response and citizen mobilization, alternative telecommunications access and harnessing the crowd to help citizens in crisis with information and throughout the recovery process.

CrisisCamp DC expects over 250 people from across the country to participate in a 2-day “barcamp” style information sharing event being held at George Washington University. In addition, the World Bank will host CrisisCampers for an Ignite session to kick off CrisisCamp DC on Friday, June 12, 2009. To sign up to present at the Ignite Session (20 presentations in 100 minutes) email [e-mail]. To attend Crisis Camp please RSVP today (only 45 tickets left - tickets are free!). Sign up online at http://crisiscamp.eventbrite.com/

For more information on CrisisCamp or to join in the community, please visit www.crisiscamp.org or email [e-mail]. Follow us @crisiscamp on Twitter and be our friend on Facebook.