What are COVID-19 Responses for Refugees and Low-Income Countries?

Online Worldwide - April 23 - RSVP Now

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the globe. The novel coronavirus has infected over 2 million people and killed over 126,000, resulting in over one third of the world’s population under strict quarantine rules - including most Americans.

With advanced health systems buckling under the strain, weaker health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at particular risk, and they could be feeling the effects of the crisis for years. For many people, such as in refugee settlements like Nakivale in Uganda, one of the world’s oldest, and in Pakistan, handwashing isn’t always possible and social distancing isn’t an option.

How the virus impacts communities in countries with weaker health systems, and those in refugee settlements, will be very different than we have seen so far. Shelter-in-place orders will severely impact people’s ability to put food on the table in communities with large informal economies. Such orders may not even reach rural communities, and in refugee camps, it's almost impossible to shelter-in-place.

As the virus spreads, so do the technological responses. Never before has a global crisis been so digital. Countries are attempting to leverage different information communication technology (ICT) tools to create a COVID-19 Digital Response.

Please RSVP Now to join an online Technology Salon to discuss how activists and media around the world are leveraging ICT tools in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including questions like:

What are the immediate problems facing refugees and other high-risk communities?
Where will communities need support to improve resilience?
How are ICT solutions helping (or hindering) community response?
Who in society is least likely to benefit from the use of ICT solutions?
How can communities innovate technology use for greater impact?
Who is on the cutting edge, and what are they learning?

Please RSVP Now to join a virtual Technology Salon that will explore the on-the-ground situation in Pakistan and Uganda, two countries beginning to feel the impact of the pandemic, with these activists to help lead the discussion:

Irfan Younas, Chief Executive Officer, KCC Communication Pakistan
Mike Zuckerman, Creative Activist and Applied Geographer, Nakivale Refugee Camp, Uganda
Joshua Reiman, Salon Moderator, Strategic Partnership and Impact Strategist.

This virtual Technology Salon will break from our usual in-person format and be a fully virtual event. Yet, even online space is limited to foster intimate conversations, so please RSVP now and be sure to note the relevance in your application to attend. Once we reach our discussion capacity there will be a waiting list!

COVID-19 Digital Response
San Francisco Technology Salon
8:00 - 9:30 am Pacific Time
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Online Videoconference
RSVP is required for attendance
Attendees will receive a confirmation with login details.

This TechSalon is possible thanks to the support of the Vodafone Americas Foundation.The San Francisco Bay Area Technology Salon is managed by the international nonprofit Inveneo.

About the Technology Salon

The Technology Salon™ is an intimate, informal, and in person, discussion between information and communication technology experts and international development professionals, with a focus on both:

technology's impact on donor-sponsored technical assistance delivery, and
private enterprise driven economic development, facilitated by technology.

Our meetings are lively conversations, not boring presentations. Attendance is capped at 35 people - and frank participation with ideas, opinions, and predictions is actively encouraged.

It's also a great opportunity to meet others motivated to employ technology to solve vexing development problems. Join us today!