Voix des Kivus.

A lot of research on conflict suffers because of poor quality data. Researchers often rely on events data collected by media and official organizations or on recall based questions in surveys. In addition, development organizations - especially those in Eastern Congo - often have a lack of good quality information, which inhibits them to respond to events in a timely and effective manner. We are now running a pilot in Eastern Congo – called Voix des Kivus – to see whether it is feasible to collect systematic data on conflict events through a system in which large numbers of phone holders in remote areas (conditional on phone coverage) register conflict events on behalf of their communities in real time through an automated SMS system. A few days ago a five minute presentation that I gave at the October 16-18 International Conference on Conflict Mapping in Cleveland came out: