Creation of an app that supports a decentralised early warning system to promote human security, identifying different threats and opportunities and providing agile responses.
Human security is a people centred approach based on the perceptions of individuals and communities about what makes them insecure. Human security seeks to protect three basic freedoms:
• Freedom from fear: protecting people from threats directed at their security and physical integrity.
• Freedom from want: Ensure that people’s basic socio-economic needs are met, empowering them to realise their potential and pursue productive projects.
• Freedom from indignity: Upholding human rights, ensuring legal protection, the rule of law and enhancing of human welfare empowering people to make choices and seek opportunities.
These three pillars are at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals and reflect some of the concerns expressed by economist Hernando de Soto regarding the need to strengthen the social contract between the state and its citizens.
While this concept has broad support among scholars and policy makers as a useful framework for the construction of peaceful and prosperous societies, one difficulty is how to go from theory to practice and make human security operational. Blockchain technology can provide a solution to this problem articulating people's voices and reflecting their perception of security threats at different levels.
A key challenge to address is how can security priorities be defined through an inclusive bottom up approach, which effectively aggregates the different perceptions of individuals about significant threats to their security. An additional problem is how to mobilize effective actions to manage the identified risks.
While there are some early warning systems, these tend to be very centralized, state-focused and highly bureaucratic. These factors hinder their effectiveness.
Blockchain technology can contribute to solve these problems by creating a decentralized system for identifying risks and mobilizing rapid responses. This would favor a truly collaborative approach among different stakeholders to work together in implementing quick and effective preventive strategies to uphold human security.
Similar successful experiences:
Ushahidi: An open-source software with the intent of strengthening communities, empowering users to rapidly and purposefully gather, analyze, respond and act on data and information.
ECOWARN: an observation and monitoring system for conflict prevention and decision-making developed by the Economic Community for West Africa , ECOWAS
Early Warning System of Colombia’s Ombudsman office, SAT: SAT identifies and assesses situations of risk for civilians derived from the armed conflict. It informs relevant authorities about possible massive human rights violations.
In the first phase of the project, which is the one this application referes to, there is no significant risk. Some challenges may arise related to the technological viability to develop the idea.