NGOs that benefitted from the course include Concern Worldwide, Oxfam,
Action Against Hunger, Islamic Relief Indonesia, YDSA, Plan
International, Mercy Malaysia, World Vision, Doctors without Borders,
ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center), Thai Red Cross and Malteser
International.
The training program included emergency environment, an overview of
telecom hardware and services available for emergencies, as well as
hands-on sessions and a simulation exercise. The trainees were selected
in collaboration with the regional ECHO experts, considering their
profile, their technical background and the relevance of their
position.
According to TSF, the objective is to build a network of humanitarian
professionals trained in emergency telecoms, able to coordinate their
efforts and increase the impact of emergency response. The training
will directly benefit humanitarian organizations active in the regions
of Central America, the Caribbean and South-East Asia, and indirectly
touch many other emergency responders through partnerships and
information sharing.
Trainers at the AIT session included Benoit Chabrier, Head of TSF's
Regional Base in Nicaragua, Oisin Walton, Head of TSF's Regional Base
in Thailand (AIT), Benoit Myard, Project Manager, AIT, Sebastien
Sivadier, Regional ICT Coordinator (AIT), and Justin Waller, volunteer
at TSF (AIT). TSF experts train participants how to use and
trouble-shoot various equipment and help each organization find the
most adapted and cost-effective solution to meet their needs. Sessions
included courses in GIS and mapping, issues of Wifi Security,
installing egroupware and training in VOIP and GPRS among others.
In every humanitarian crisis, in addition to medical and food aid,
there is a critical need for reliable telecommunications services for
civilians and relief workers. TSF is using its experience as the first
NGO specializing in telecommunications to build the capacity of other
aid agencies to deploy telecommunications equipment in the field.
The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) has
helped some 18 million people through its 200 partners (NGOs, ICRC, and
UN agencies like the UNHCR and the WFP). For more information about the
Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission, consult:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm A
TSF (http://www.tsfi.org/) is the leading humanitarian NGO specialized
in emergency telecommunications. With its 24-hour monitoring centre and
relying on its operational bases in Europe, Central America and Asia,
TSF crews of IT and telecoms specialists can intervene anywhere in the
world in less than 24 hours. After a sudden onset disaster or conflict,
they can set up in a matter of minutes a satellite-based telecoms
centre offering broadband Internet, phone and fax lines. Since its
creation in 1998, TSF deployed to nearly 60 countries and assisted
almost 500 relief organizations and hundreds of thousands of victims.
In Asia, the TSF is based at the Asian Institute of Technology,
Pathumthani, Thailand.
