The Long Last Mile screened at GK3

Film catalyses discussion on community based disaster warning systems for Asia

TVE Asia Pacific's documentary film, The Long Last Mile, was screened at the Third Global Knowledge Conference (GK3) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 11 December 2007.

The film was an integral part of a session on 'Making communities disaster resilient' organised by the regional ICT research group LIRNEasia, together with Sri Lanka's largest development organisation, Sarvodaya.

The video film, released in October 2007, captures the highlights of the process and findings of a path-finding action research, the Evaluating Last Mile Hazard Information Dissemination (HazInfo) Project in Sri Lanka.

This multi-partner initiative brought together 10 civil society and telecom/ICT companies to assess the best combination of communication technology, training and community preparedness to share authentic hazard warnings.

The GK3 session, moderated by LIRNEasia Executive Director Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, presented findings and analysis within a 90-minute session divided into two mini-sessions on technology and community.

Michael De Soyza, Senior Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Public Policy of Dialog Telekom, introduced his company's GSM-based Remote Alarm Device, while Mala Rao, Manager Closed User Group Solution of WorldSpace Corporation (India) presented the Addressable Radio for Emergency Alerts (AREA). Both technologies were piloted during the HazInfo Project.

In the second mini-session on community, Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director, Sarvodaya, discussed the Sarvodaya approach to making communities disaster resilient. LIRNEasia's Natasha Udu-gama and Nuwan Waidyanatha presented analysis of the project findings.

The Long Last Mile premiered during a national workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 25 October 2007 on “Sharing Knowledge on Disaster Warning: Community-Based Last-Mile Warning Systems” held at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) through its Bangladesh Network Office for Urban Safety (BNUS).

The HazInfo project, as well as the GK3 session, were supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

Useful links:

Presentations made during GK3 session on Making Communities Disaster Resilient

Evaluating the Last Mile Hazard Information Dissemination Project

TVEAP News – April 2006: HazInfo project launched

TVEAP News – November 2007: The Long Last Mile premiered in Dhaka

Report of the Dhaka workshop held on 25 October 2007