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The technology used for good can be a "last hope" for a world in decline, says Andrew Harper, the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR, its acronym in English).
In an interview with the Renaissance at the Web Summit in Lisbon, responsible for the innovation department of the UNHCR says that the UN "is desperate" to find private partners because "this problem of refugees and migrants goes beyond the capacity of governments or the United Nations".
How technology can help in the refugee crisis?
you need to find new ways to give protection and assistance to refugees and to the thousands of people who, from year to year, become increasingly more vulnerable. The world is in decadence, so, the only last hope that we have is to think about how we can use technology in beneficial way, how can we promote better connections between the refugees.
Syria has been in the spotlight of Europe and this has led to a widespread concern with these refugees, but we are forgetting that there are hundreds of thousands of people in need of health care and support also in sub-saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and other places.
Therefore, we have to look for new ways of working. In the last five years, the number of people needing help has doubled and how will it be in another five years? For this, we need to adjust, to seek new ways of working and help solve the problem.
We are very interested to learn, desperate to find partners, in particular with the private sector, because this problem of refugees and migrants goes beyond the capacity of governments or the United Nations. Therefore, it is necessary to make partnerships between people who are available to help.
What type of technology is that it will be more relevant to help the refugees?
I Think that the key element is to provide connections through the internet so that people can communicate, but in many places there is no way to communicate nor electricity. Therefore, it is necessary to create basic conditions for them to talk with each other and even to learn. The answer key can be in the technology and that involves satellites and other communication structures.
Then the next step is to define how can the refugees to use them. Raises after other issues, such as: how will they be able to buy “smartphones”, computers,, what kind of languages have to be available or translated, if we can appeal even to artificial intelligence. We want to understand how we can use all this in the context of refugees.
Is also very concerned with the education of refugee children?
Very worried because in the final instance, among the 65 million people displaced, the refugees are five times more likely to be excluded from education. We are talking about the next generation and are we available for to lose? Many children come to be out of school for two, three, four years, and that leaves me worried, because this time is not recoverable. It is therefore urgent to think of other solutions to informal to carry to them the education.
in addition, refugees who are still in their home countries need to have an education in safe locations. In many places, including in Afghanistan, it is difficult for children, in particular girls, to go to school. Will be that we were not able to take educational content to the home or to their communities? Will be that we were not able to be more pro-active? We all need to believe that the world can be a better place, even if it is difficult to believe.
Typically, Governments are open to the idea of giving phones and the internet to the refugees?
I would Say that the answer has to be more global. If the answer is more global, governments will become more involved, because they perceive that this will benefit the entire population.
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