Khaddit Beirut / Shake Up Beirut (External organisation)

Description

In the wake of the Beirut Blast of August 4th 2020 that has irreversibly altered the daily lives of citizens (and residents) of Beirut this initiative is aimed at harnessing the expertise of analysts, academics and practitioners to derive best practices on relief and development aid in times of conflict and emergency.
We have already launched https://www.khadditbeirut.com/ with live reporting from people filling out their own needs and we want to use this data to guide support to them.
Here’s our rationale as to why such an expert and advisory-led initiative is needed in Lebanon so as to gather input and guide action:
● Civil society organizations and NGOs in such similar contexts require a lot of time to set up a functional system (it can take years).
● Aid agencies end up setting the agendas for aid and relief projects based on their perceived priorities.
● People in the disaster zone could end up having no say over the aid they are promised to receive which may end up taking months and years.
● The only way to influence relief efforts is to direct them in a transparent and open way to the people who need them the most.
To that end:
First, we will:
● Streamline and systematize the work done by civil society under one efficient framework.
● Guide international donors and relief agencies to implement a people-centric strategy for relief, emphasizing and learning from other countries.
Second, we will:
• Provide contextual trustworthy expert guidance on health, environment, education and construction.
• Compile and manage data coherently and systematically in on a live, accessible and open platform.
• Establish an expert board to map cautionary tales of failed relief in similar situations in order to draw contextually viable recommendations for aid.
Third, we will:
• Consolidate existing data sets on damage assessment and community needs.
• Enable people to directly and sustainably voice their own priorities for any aid assistance that Lebanon receives.

Period	5 Aug 2020 → 5 Aug 2030
Held at	Khaddit Beirut / Shake Up Beirut, Lebanon
Degree of Recognition	International