The Communication and Complex Emergencies Project is a multi-phase collaboration between the University of Adelaide’s Applied Communication Collaborative Research Unit and the Australian Civil-Military Centre. The current phase of the project focuses on a range of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digital platforms and their role in supporting emergency and humanitarian relief and assistance processes during complex emergencies.
This guide examines the application of a wide range of new ICTs in the context of complex emergencies. New ICTs such as Internet-capable mobile phones, short messaging services (SMS, Twitter, WhatsApp), social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube) and knowledge sharing tools (Wikipedia) have radically altered the way the world connects, communicates and shares. A digital transformation is underway that is rapidly reshaping our world and what we understand about it. Importantly, this transformation is leading to new program and service delivery possibilities for agencies and organisations that are mandated to respond to complex emergencies.