Action alerts & quick response

Mobile technologies can help you to alert supporters and members to upcoming events or actions and to respond quickly to an emergency or disaster.

For example when there are arrests of activists, or when there is an environmental or human rights emergency, a simple 'phone tree' can help a group of people to relay alerts to each other in order to trigger an agreed response such as contact with the press or an update on a website. The Migrant Workers emergency text programme initiated by MIGRANTE in the Philippines enables Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to text in their complaints over abuses in the workplace and discriminatory laws passed by foreign governments.

The power of Using SMS in an emergency situation was demonstrated when the Society Against Internet Censorship in Pakistan started blogging live updates during General Musharaff's imposition of martial law in Pakistan.

If you are thinking of establishing a response system to deal with political crises bear in mind that it will need to be sophisticated, to be active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that it should at the very least allow communication to and from a publicly known central voice/SMS number.