Technology volunteers in Portland, Oregon will host CrisisCampPDX this weekend, January 23rd from 1pm to 11pm at NedSpace Old Town, 117 NW 5th Street, Portland. Anyone who can google can help. Volunteers can go to http://crisiscamphaitipdx.eventbrite.com/ to RSVP.

CrisisCamp will take place this weekend in three countries and 10 cities to provide technology expertise, geospatial and data aggregation, and system development to aid in the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. CrisisCamp is a open, collaborative event held in “barcamp” style through http://crisiscommons.org/ to provide local and international responders, Haitian community leaders and and non-governmental organizations an opportunity to engage more effectively with operations on the ground in Haiti. Tools and resources created by CrisisCamp volunteers can enhance responders' decision-making capability, transparency and collaboration.

Locally, CrisisCampPDX is working with NedSpace and Oregon State University’s Open Source Lab to bring together Portland volunteers to make a difference. “The Portland tech community has demonstrated a real commitment to using their skills for good,” says Deborah Bryant, Public Sector Communities Manager of Open Source Lab. “I'm excited we can use those skills this weekend to support the Haitian relief effort right here at home”.

Laura Schultz, a local Visual Effects Producer who worked on the feature film Coraline, saw the needs in Haiti via twitter and noticed that CrisisCamps were organizing a response for people to get involved in Washington DC and Los Angeles. “I don’t have a lot of money to give and I’ve been frustrated that I didn’t seem to have the skills to impact what I was seeing on my television. CrisisCamp provides an opportunity for us to offer a little more.” You can follow CrisisCamps via twitter (@crisiscamp and @crisiscampPDX).

At the first series of CrisisCamps for Haiti on January 14th, volunteers in four cities launched “We Need, We Have,” a repository of specific technology needs of local Haitians' response. Volunteers contributed to rich open source maps that track which nonprofit organizations on the ground in Haiti are doing what, where, for more efficient coordination and resource distribution. CrisisCampers built and contributed data to multiple mobile phone, open source applications that enable people on the ground to report vital information such as the location of a hospital or a missing person. After each CrisisCamp,volunteers collaborate remotely to strengthen tools. See all of the applications and projects underway at www.CrisisCommons.org.

CrisisCommons brings together domain experts, developers, and first responders to technology and practice for humanitarian crisis management and disaster relief. CrisisCommons is part of a global movement that unites volunteers, academia, non-profits, companies and government officials in sharing best practices and lessons learned to advocate for further use of technology and telecommunications to assist citizens and communities during crisis.

“We are witnessing the development of a transformational change in how an average citizen can participate in the crisis response effort,” says CrisisCommons co-founder Noel Dickover. “Previously you could only send money. Now, you can directly help in the response. An existing social network of national and international first responders, web 2.0 developers, and NGOs had been established, so the immediate response was just a matter of galvanizing existing relationships.”

CrisisCamp will provide local opportunities for citizens to assist in activities such as crisis mapping, data and RSS feed aggregation. In addition, people with specialized skills such as translation, computer programing and literacy advocates are encouraged to participate.

CrisisCommons
Founded in March 2009 through an impromptu Tweetup at the Government 2.0 Camp, a small band of idealists and innovators gathered to discuss the idea of a creating a common community through a mash-up of citizen volunteers, crisis response organizations, international humanitarian relief agencies, non-profits and the private sector. Within minutes, the CrisisCamp concept was born to unite communities, seek common ground and cultivate innovation in the use of technology for mobility and efficiency during crisis. Learn more and join the movement at http://www.crisiscommons.org

from the CrisisCamp press release of Jan 20, 2010

This year, join us for a special one-day Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON) DC on Thursday, November 5 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The program will focus on how federal agencies are using open technology in support of their agency mission objectives while reducing costs and creating a secure information technology environment. "Management", "Mission", and "Technology" tracks in the program feature outstanding agency and industry presentations. Government agency leaders and their key technology personnel as well as legal, procurement, planning, public information and social media staff should attend . Highlights from the program include:

• Breakfast Keynote: David M. Wennergren, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology / Deputy Chief Information Officer US Department of Defense
• Luncheon Keynote: David G. Boyd, Ph.D., Director, Command, Control and Interoperability Division Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

A short list of agency presenters include:

• Brian Guertin, Chief Patent Council, NASA Goddard
• Sue C. Payton, Former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force/Acquisition Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense/Acting Director Defense Research and Engineering; President – SCI Aerospace Inc.
• Daud Santosa, Chief Technology Officer, US Department of Interior
• Vish Sankaran, Director of the Federal Health Architecture, US Department of Health and Human Services
• Peter J. Tseronis, Deputy Associate Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Energy and Chairperson, Federal Cloud Computing Advisory Council

Three conference tracks and a hands-on lab address a full range of timely management and technology topics. Agencies presenting include DOD, DISA, HHS, GSA, EPA, DOE, Department of State, NASA, OMB, CIA, NSA, NARA, DHS. The full conference schedule and additional speakers can be found on the conference web site at http://goscon.org