I was in town the other day chatting with Noel and we regaled about all the great things that we have seen happen since that first tweetup in March of 2009 where we wondered if anyone would be interested in creating the very first CrisisCamp. Indeed, not only was there one that was created but so many of them all around the world – both during disasters and to help prepare communities. I love Noel’s passion when he says, “We have changed the world” and I believe him. Since Haiti, coders and regular people with nothing more than internet browsers believe that they can make a difference in a crisis, even if they do not go to the disaster area. CrisisCommons connected technology volunteers around the globe to work with formal crisis response organizations in a new way – one that is still exploring its boundaries. Maybe projects didn’t work out or we didn’t move down the road we initially wanted to, you can’t deny that everyone who pitched in believe in a new model of giving. A model that is based on people skills and breaks the myths that complete strangers can’t organize themselves to be ready to help. Indeed that has been the backbone of everything we have done.Just think that two years ago today we made one decision that changed all of our lives. We decided to do something to help. We wanted to try. We wanted to see if we could help. Two years later there have been many highs and lows but what remains is the undeniable fact that people can help during disasters. We see it during each and every disaster event. Haiti changed everything for so many of us and communities which are in this space.Looking back to 2011 there were many advancements where volunteers continued to contribute their time to projects and response actions. Volunteers responded to blizzards, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes last year. We saw a gathering of CrisisCamp communities in Europe and the very first mobile CrisisCamper hit the road for a cross country tour in the United States. The communities of interest were in high gear as well. The Missing Persons Community of Interest had two Data Summits – one in Paris and the other in NYC with folks like Facebook, Google, Refugees United, ICRC and the American Red Cross attending. The community has also supported the efforts with #SMEM to help provide a snapshot in time of the challenges and opportunities which emergency management practitioners are currently facing. We also worked together on the perhaps first crowdsourced Congressional testimony. That was a fun project for all who participated. Lots of great things happening.Towards the late summer and the fall we began to shift into looking at where the community was today and begin to evaluate what the next steps were for the community. To make this more inclusive, an interim management team was established to explore the next steps for CrisisCommons. In a sense the community has the opportunity to create a new chapter filled with so many possibilities. This team, as an all volunteer effort, will begin to start charting the voyage ahead. You can reach the new team by sending an email to core@crisiscommons.org and check out their bios on the website at www.crisiscommons.org.
As this team begins to move ahead, Noel and I have decided, after three years of amazing experiences and working with the best people in the world, that we are both stepping down from the community and are moving on with a few new projects. You can check out what I’m doing here.
We are very excited to see all the great things that the new generation of leaders at CrisisCommons will accomplish. We both wish everyone well.
So here’s to new journeys for everyone and major love bombs for the new team. We know they will do amazing things!
Happy New Year!
Heather Blanchard and Noel Dickover
