Crisis Camps – One Month Later

It has been almost a month since the first CrisisCamps assembled following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Since the first five cities gathered on January 16, camps were held in more than 20 more cities.

Hundreds of volunteers have given up their nights and weekends to work on more than 40 different projects performing tasks ranging from hardcore development, to data collection, to graphic design, to research, to outreach, to story telling, to translation, to project management, to blogging, to… the list is endless.

In the past month, Crisis Camps have produced websites, applications, data sets, and countless other hacks that made information more easily available to those who need it. Databases were tied to maps and made available to the people providing relief on the ground in Haiti. Computers and telephones became translation tools, people finders, and the route to empty hospital beds. All through the work of hundreds of people, thousands of miles apart. For a complete list of projects , click here.

Working closely with the United Nations, the World Bank, and other groups providing aid, Crisis Camps everywhere have used the internet to create a powerful community with a positive purpose. Using every sort of collaborative and social media tool (open source projects, shared workspaces, Wikis, blogs, skype, chat, twitter, facebook, etc.) this group has pioneered a new kind of aid organization, working hard to provide tools and information vital the mission of helping Haiti recover.

With four camps happening today in the U.S. and Canada, and more planned in coming weeks, it appears that the Crisis Camp movement is showing no signs of slowing down.  These cities have contributed so far… (apologies if I missed any).

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Baton Rouge
• Bogata, Columbia
• Boston
• Brooklyn
• Calgary
• Chicago
• Boulder/Denver
• Kansas City
• London
• Los Angeles
• Ottawa
• Miami
• Montreal
• New Orleans
• New York City
• Northern California
• Pittsburgh
• Portland
• Rochester
• Santa Barbara
• Seattle
• Silicon Valley
• Toronto
• Washington DC