Introduction to the project

Native mobile application to enhance communication & security information for staff members of NGOs & organisations working in conflict & post conflict zones.

Project background

Having spent time in South Lebanon and having close interaction with a peacekeeping organisation based here I am very interested in what technological resources are available in the outbreak of conflict in terms of communication for staff members and their dependents. Through my initial research I discovered that despite the available technology, communication methods being used are nothing more advanced than phone calls and sms messaging and doesn’t allow much in the way of two way communication.

Project aims

The aim of this project is to build a useful and relevant mobile application that gives an amount of control to the user during a crisis situation by supplying them with up to date information and allowing them to contribute directly to the data themselves. My intention is to build an application that firstly improves the lines of communication to create an immediate and informative communication tool but also will be able to provide more useful information than an SMS message by including maps with data relevant to the situation. My second objective is to give the user a sense of security by having access to real time updating of information and empowering them by allowing them to contribute directly to the data themselves.

Technology

The application will be built using HTML, CSS and JavaScript and using the PhoneGap / Cordova platform to publish to native mobile applications that will be made available for Android & ios. The front-end interface will be built using the Javascript Framework Jquery Mobile.Additionally a product website will be created to showcase the features of the application to allow for a quick and visual explanation of the product.