Your daily news source delivered with style by Mic Check Radio, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
How Google Plans On Solving The Refugee Crisis
April 9, 2008
It’s hard not to love Google. Those primary colors! Their nifty graphics! GMAIL! [Reuters]
Now, we’ve got one more reason to fall head over heels for the Internet giant. Google technology first envisaged as a video game backdrop has been adapted to raise awareness — and potentially financial support — for the plight of refugees and vulnerable people once far from the public eye.
What that means: Now, you can use Google Earth to get a close-up view of U.N. refugee camps and aid projects.
Rebecca Moore, head of Earth Outreach for Google, said the browsable, high-definition pictures of humanitarian crisis zones stood to captivate a mass audience that may not otherwise see them.
Former Irish President Mary Robinson, who also served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the technology could help the public better understand displacement crises. “We need all the communications possible to change the dynamic, to make this something very personal,” she told the UNHCR audience by videolink.
And it sounds like Google Earth is a great place to start. More than 350 million people have already downloaded the software.
Swoon!
Social Bookmarking
--------
Comments
Leave a comment about this article below. For more discussion, visit our community page and sign up for your own Campus Progress blog!
|
!
