In the aftermath of natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, the paramount importance of sanitation becomes undeniably clear. Past events, notably the Great East Japan earthquake and the Kumamoto earthquake, illuminated the necessity for uninterrupted access to basic amenities like toilets. These pivotal experiences emphasised the dire need for a sanitation solution that is versatile, sustainable, and reliable, even amidst the unpredictabilities of crises.
Innovation Stories
How will interoperable systems and data sharing benefit affected populations?
People on the move in search of humanitarian assistance are facing challenges due to disconnected humanitarian systems.
Innovation for the people
When you think of the word ‘innovation’, what, or who comes to mind? Is it Edison and the lightbulb, or Marie Curie and her discovery of radioactive elements to help treat cancer, or Dr Gladys West and her pioneering invention of GPS. Maybe even Bill Gates’ and Microsoft Word? For me, it’s Professor John I.Q. Nerdelbaum Frink Jr., scientist, inventor and Simpsons character.
The necessary interoperability of systems between organisations
Interoperability of systems can change the way organisations deliver aid, restoring people’s dignity and ensuring a safer and faster access to essential services.
Traverse: Insights from Australian Red Cross creating, designing and ending a digital identity platform
Australian Red Cross led an effort to solve this by establishing a verifiable digital credentials solution in order to remove some of the structural barriers and administrative burdens to onboarding.
Limitless wins 2022 Global Good Award – Monash Action Lab + IFRC Solferino Academy
Participants of Limitless were invited to create short-form videos outlining the challenges they faced in their communities, their proposed solutions and resources required. Through Action Translate, these videos were able to be translated into 17 languages – enabling worldwide distribution.
“We trained 120 farmers from 15 different communities how to make organic fertilisers, and they are now training other members of their communities!”
I started out searching for a solution on how to help members of my local community overcome the hunger crises brought about by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to help farmers with a more cost-effective way of farming, of which the long term benefit would cut across their personal health and the environment at large.
“How can we create synergy between innovation, technology, public health, and building a better community?”
We asked ourselves what we could do differently to make an impact, and it was here that the idea of DOMPI was born: a synergy between innovation, technology, public health and the quest to continue building ever stronger communities free from violence and capable of cultivating emotional, physical and family wellbeing.
“We could actually see the impact! Over 5,000 young people have joined our online learning platform!”
Nobody tells you when to go and create impact in your community. Many times, you go out to create change because you have gone through the challenge or maybe, you have seen people experience the challenge first hand, and so it hits differently. For me,it is the latter. That has been the inspiration for my innovation journey with Vijana Tupo Initiative.
“Volunteer “Mental Health Activators” are already being trained to organize local mental health activities and distribute CareBoxes in their communities.”
In 2019, 800 Thai youths took their own lives, and over 10,000 calls from youth were received by the Thai Red Cross mental health support hotline. Mental health problems intensified due to challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The power of digital media allows youth to work with no limits. Our digital campaigns have reached more than 65,000 users.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, as a youth volunteer from the Indonesian Red Cross, I was seeing many young people in Indonesia having more and more digital activities, all day long, including online school, and they were scrolling social media continuously. Some of them were becoming less productive, and some started having mental health issues. Social media became the youth’s top activity in the digital space.
“And the numbers continued to rise! Today, over 100 youths are now freelancers and earning a decent livelihood.”
After I joined the Limitless Youth Innovation Academy, I was confident enough that my initiative would lead to a positive change in my community, and I launched Cyber Limitless.