Pledge
Advancing Crisis Response with Digital Mapping for Refugee Support by Welcome Japan
Welcome Japan's Emergency Response Working Group, along with its Digital Map Sub Working Group and Data Visualization and OpenGeoCommunity for 2023, acknowledges the significant efforts previously made in benchmarking similar maps overseas and in developing a prototype crisis map tailored for war and conflict situations. Building upon this foundation, we are committed to advancing the development and utilization of digital mapping and data visualization tools. Our focus is to address crisis situations effectively, with a specific emphasis on visualizing the support needs of refugees and the available support resources within society. This commitment represents our dedication to enhancing crisis response capabilities through innovative and practical technological solutions. It also aims to create a digital map design that is adaptable and reusable for future crisis response scenarios, and design a GEOINT (Geospatial Intelligence) system utilizing blockchain technology to enhance the reliability and security of data. The initiative hopes that the digital maps will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of crisis response, particularly in supporting refugees. We also believe that improved visualization of support needs and resources will aid in better allocation and mobilization of aid and resources. Additionally, the design will be scalable and adaptable, suitable for various types of crises beyond the current focus. The working groups would continuously refine the digital mapping tools based on real-world application and feedback, while putting effort in the collaboration among different stakeholders in this initiative, including technology experts, humanitarian organizations, and government agencies, which would contribute to more effective and humane crisis responses, ultimately benefiting refugees and societies facing crises. These are some KPIs that could be set for the Welcome Japan's Crisis Response Working Group and its Sub Working Group on Digital Map and Data Visualization: 1. Development Milestones: Complete the development of an advanced prototype of the crisis map tailored for war and conflict situations by 2024. 2. User Feedback and Iterations: Gather feedback from at least 50 of different stakeholders, including technology experts, humanitarian organizations, and government agencies, and implement at least 10 rounds of improvements based on this feedback by 2025. 3. Training and Utilization: Train 500 of personnel from humanitarian organizations and government agencies in the use of the digital mapping and data visualization tools by 2027. 4. Crisis Response Efficiency: Demonstrate a improvement in crisis response efficiency through the use of digital maps in at least 10 real-world crisis situations by 2027. 5. Support Resource Visualization: Successfully visualize the support needs of refugees and available support resources in at least 10 crisis situations by 2027. 6. Blockchain Integration: Successfully integrate blockchain technology into the GEOINT system for enhanced data reliability and security, with a pilot project completed by 2027.
