Use of Technology in Emergency and Post-Crisis Situations

Within recent years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been playing an increasingly important role within the field of education in emergencies. This can be seen not only in the use of ICTs by humanitarian workers for their information, coordination and communication needs during emergency preparedness, response and recovery, but also in the increasing potential for ICTs to be used for improving education provision and access during an emergency (IIEP-UNESCO, 2010). As new technologies continue to be developed and existing technologies continue to penetrate deeper into developing and crisisaffected communities, the question arises: What opportunities can new technologies offer as catalysts for overcoming certain obstacles facing education in emergencies and post-crisis situations and for improving agencies’ various activities in these difficult contexts? This report seeks to address and explore this question.

While ICT is certainly not a panacea or a de-facto solution to the challenges facing education in emergencies, it can, if implemented correctly, greatly enhance and improve education stakeholders’ activities in these contexts.