Civic Tech Field Guide

Acter

A matrix-based mobile organizing app to organize your movement.

Matrix
apps

GeoMatch

United States of America (the)

GeoMatch works in many settings, from refugee resettlement to immigration agencies and nonprofits that help aspiring immigrants. They tailor the software to the client’s needs.

Project Dastaan

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

Project Dastaan is a peace-building initiative which examines the human impact of global migration through the lens of the largest forced migration in recorded history, the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Phone Credits for Refugees (PC4R)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

PC4R was set up in February 2016 by James Pearce as a way to provide phone credits to people in refugee camps.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Paper Airplanes

United States of America (the)

Paper Airplanes is a non-profit that seeks to prepare university students in conflict zones to be able to finish their university degrees through English language programs, among other initiatives.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Re:Match

European Union (EU)

Developing and applying a preference-based algorithm that brings together welcoming cities and people seeking protection, Re:Match aims to bring just, sustainable and human-rights centered innovation to the field of migration governance.

Techfugees

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

Techfugees is an initiative that supports the deployment of responsible technology products and services for and with displaced persons across the world. It also enables the creation and application of tech-enabled solutions to manage migration.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

NaTakallam

United States of America (the)

NaTakallam leverages the freelance digital economy to provide income to refugees, displaced persons & their host community members, by hiring them as online tutors, teachers, translators & cultural exchange partners, regardless of their location & status.

Duolingo

United States of America (the)

The app aims to give everyone access to free language education.

Translation tools, platforms, and communities

Berlin Mondiale

Berlin

To make arts and culture more visible and accessible to people in outskirt neighborhoods of Berlin, particularly those with migration, asylum, and exile histories.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

RefAid

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

The app seeks to ensure that migrants in Europe can access trusted services and accurate information in the palm of their hand - wherever they are.

Āhau

Oceania

Āhau is a Whānau Data Platform that helps whānau-based communities (whānau, hapū, Iwi) capture, preserve, and share important information and histories into secure, whānau managed databases and servers. Keep track of whānau whakapapa information, preserve and share cultural records and narratives, own and control whānau data and servers, and build a stronger sense of whānau, community and identity. (whānau is an extended family or community of related families who live together in the same area. Origin: New Zealand)

Mygrants

Italy (Italia)

The Mygrants app is a for-profit digital company created in response to the arrival of Ukrainian migrants in Italy, so that they may be socially and economically integrated into Italy.

Jangala

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

Jangala is a technology charity dedicated to providing essential internet access globally, with the goal of connecting 4 million people to the internet by 2030. Founded in 2015 as a volunteer initiative providing Wi-Fi to 5,000 people in the Calais Jungle refugee camp, Jangala offers a unique approach through its novel connectivity solutions, and takes great pride in its strong partnerships with international aid actors, grassroots organisations and public bodies.

ALMAMAR App

Germany (Deutschland)

ALMAMAR is a newly developed intervention for refugees that supports them in coping with psychological problems (e.g. sadness or anxiety). ALMAMAR is based on a scientifically reviewed program that has already been used successfully in various countries. The program is either internet-based - on a smartphone or computer - with written contact or face-to-face contact. Participation is free of charge.

Access social benefits

Integreat

European Union (EU)

Integreat provides newcomers with local, municipal level information in several languages.

Resettlement

MeshPoint One

European Union (EU)

MeshPoint One believes that access to Internet is one of basic human rights. Their mission is to enable Internet access and improve the quality of life for people in disaster struck areas. Also by empowering people in rural communities to take action to build their own village telecoms to address disadvantage, become more sustainable and increase local control. Currently, they are focused on Syrian refugees in Croatia.

Contratados.org

Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Contratados.org allows workers to share their experiences and write reviews about their recruiters and employers in order to make the recruitment process transparent and generate a mechanism for accountability for compliance or non-compliance with the obligations of employers and/or recruiters.

Needslist

United States of America (the)

NeedsList matches community needs with offers of support, making humanitarian assistance and disaster response cheaper, faster, and more targeted.

Children On The Edge

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

Children on the Edge is a child rights organisation created to support the world’s most marginalised children, living in some of the toughest situations. We currently work with more than 20,000 children in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Myanmar, and Lebanon.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Awana Digital

United States of America (the)

Digital Democracy’s mission is to work in solidarity with frontline and indigenous communities to use technology to defend their environmental and human rights. We partner with environmental defenders to co-design and co-develop tools they can use to defend critical ecosystems and Indigenous cultures. Digital Democracy helps our partners achieve transformative change and works toward a world where all people can participate in decisions that govern their lives.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Watch The Med

European Union (EU)

Watch The Med is an online mapping platform to monitor the deaths and violations of migrants’ rights at the maritime borders of the EU. The WatchTheMed project was initiated as part of the 2012 Boats4People campaign in the Central Mediterranean. Today the project further involves a wide network of organisations, activists and researchers. Through the transnational cooperation with migrants’ rights organisations, activists, researchers, migrants, seafarers active in, around and beyond the Mediterranean and the use of new mapping technologies, WatchTheMed aims to document the deaths and violations that are the structural product of the militarized Southern European border regime. The online map allows to spatialise incidents across the complex legal and political geography of the Mediterranean Sea. Through the accounts of survivors and witnesses, but also the analysis of ocean currents, winds, mobile phone data and satellite imagery, it is possible to determine in which Search and Rescue zone, jurisdictions and operational areas an incident occurred – as well as showing other boats who were in the vicinity of those in distress. Spatialising such information is essential to determine responsibility for violations at sea. Apart from reconstructing past events, the participatory nature of the platform allows many different actors to to indicate ongoing situations of distress. The documentation generated by WatchTheMed seeks to support the work of organisations that defend migrants’ rights, inform migrants of their rights and security at sea, pressure authorities into respecting their obligations at sea, support the ongoing campaigns by the relatives of the dead and disappeared at sea, and support legal proceedings against those who violated the rights of migrants.

Voices of Venezuela

Latin America

Voices of Venezuela (VOV) is committed to empowering Venezuelan migrants through innovative, AI-powered solutions and community-driven initiatives.

Tarjimly

United States of America (the)

A non-profit that seeks to eliminate humanitarian language barriers to improve the lives of refugees and immigrants. This service is built for people on the move and non-profit organisations.

FindHello

United States of America (the)

FindHello is an app built in partnership with the UNHCR by USAHello, a non-profit organization that uses technology to connect immigrant communities with the information and resources they need to thrive. It seeks to target refugees who migrate to the USA.

aeneas

aeneas is a Python/C library and a set of tools to automagically synchronize audio and text (aka forced alignment)

Humans In The Loop

European Union (EU)

Our goal is to provide digital work and training opportunities in some of the areas of the world which are hit hardest by armed conflict and forced displacement. We recognize the complexity of working in such fragile contexts and in order to navigate the challenges around employing and paying people in these locations, we partner with a network of established local organizations with a proven track record.

Humanity Crew

European Union (EU)

Humanity Crew is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that communities affected by crises receive the critical mental health and psychosocial support they need.

Disaster response and humanitarian tech

Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)

United States of America (the)

HOT is an international team dedicated to humanitarian action and community development through open mapping. They work together to create open map data which revolutionises disaster management by enabling disaster responders to reach those in need, and contributes to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.