News Archive 2012

First deployment of emergency.lu upon request by UNHCR in Venezuela!

14 December 2012: Simon and Brice from the Luxembourg Civil Protection confirm that the emergency.lu regular deployment kit is online in Guasdualito (Apure State), close to the Columbian border.

In Guasdualito, UNHCR runs a field office and works with the local authorities and NGOs to receive and process refugee claims and to render protection and humanitarian assistance to thousands of Columbians fleeing their country and crossing the border towards Venezuela.

Emergency.lu constitutes a primary source of connectivity to the UNHCR field office and can be shared with other humanitarian actors on site.

From a lab in Luxembourg to satellites in South Sudan

emergency.lu is online in Nepal!

21 November 2012

An emergency.lu regular deployment kit was set up in Nepal by a joint team from the Luxembourg Civil Protection and the German THW. The deployment to this highly disaster-prone country was requested by WFP, as lead of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster. The equipment will also serve as contingency stock that can be rapidly dispatched within Nepal, or in the region, in case of a disaster.

emergency.lu in Rome 8-14 November 2012

13 November 2012

The emergency.lu rapid deployment kit exhibited in the Garden of WFP Headquarters in Rome during the second regular session of WFP's Executive Board, from 12-14 November 2012. Ertharin Cousin, WFP Executive Director witnessed the emergency.lu telecommunications platform and appreciated the support of the solution to ongoing operations in South Sudan and Mali. She is looking forward to a reinforced strategic partnership with Luxembourg. Mrs Ertharin Cousin warmly welcomed Mrs Janine Finck, Luxembourg's new Permanent Representative to the UN in Rome.

The emergency.lu rapid deployment kit was also presented to all cluster members during the ETC plenary session, held in Rome (8-9 November 2012). WFP is the lead agency of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster.

Presentation of emergency.lu @ WFP HQ: Ms Janine Finck, Luxembourg Permanent Representative to the WFP in Rome - Ms Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of WFP - Ms Marianne Donven, in charge of the Coordination of Luxembourg's Humanitarian Assistance

30 October 2012

On 30 October, a Swiss Delegation travelled to Luxembourg, mainly to learn more about emergency.lu. After a meeting at the Ministry for Development Cooperation, the delegation visited the premises of Luxembourg Air Ambulance and the SES headquarters in Betzdorf, where they received a live demonstration of the rapid response solution performed by HITEC Luxembourg, SES and the Luxembourg Civil Protection.

24 September 2012

emergency.lu at conference AidEx 2012 - 24-25 October, 2012, Brussels

Entitled "The Changing Face of Aid", AidEx 2012 will bring together major humanitarian aid and development agencies, organizations and suppliers from across the world to uncover new strategies for optimizing aid resources and discuss how to adopt more innovative approaches within the sector in times of economic crisis. AidEx will also provide the opportunity to meet the major donors face-to-face and find out more about the rules to access crucial funding. Delegates are invited to drop in at the Aid Donor Advice Clinic to meet representatives from a number of national aid agencies, including the Directorate for Development Cooperation of Luxembourg and the platform emergency.lu.

Venue: Hall 6, Brussels Expo, Belgiëplein 1 - Place de Belgique | B-1020

Free registration: www.aid-expo.com/en/visitor-zone/registration.aspx

20 September 2012

During this year's 'Assises de la coopération', the Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Marie-Josée Jacobs, and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres signed a multiannual partnership agreement. This agreement foresees that Luxembourg is ready to deploy, at the request of UNHCR, the telecommunications system "emergency.lu" and a team of trained volunteers to (re)establish telecommunication in the field following a disaster or in support of a new refugee camp. This communication system will provide free internet access to the entire humanitarian community in the region in order to better coordinate their efforts and to ensure a more effective humanitarian response. In addition, Luxembourg commits to help the UNHCR to develop tools and offers the possibility to integrate these tools into the emergency.lu platform, making them accessible in the field when disasters strike.

For more information visit:

http://cooperation.mae.lu/fr/Actualites-Cooperation/Edition-2012-des-Assises-de-la-cooperation-luxembourgeoise

01 August 2012

Mali: emergency.lu is providing internet connectivity to humanitarian organizations involved in relief operations in Mali. To facilitate the coordination of the response to the political crisis and drought, a terminal and an antenna have been set up in Mopti by ETC partners, offering free access to high-quality internet services in a secured wifi environment.

South Sudan: As relief operations in response to ethnic clashes in Pibor were coming to an end, the terminal and antenna operating in Pibor since mid-January were recently dismantled and moved to Yida, Unity State. Set up in the UNHCR compound, emergency.lu now supports relief operations for 60.000 refugees that fled from armed conflict and consequent food shortages in South Kordofan. Humanitarian organizations operating in this remote area gave a warm welcome to the ETC team setting up the equipment, as communication services are scarce in Yida, a region difficult to access during the rainy season.

13 July 2012

Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration attended the 21st Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Addis Ababa on 12 July 2012. The Minister officially presented the satellite communication platform emergency.lu.

For more information please visit www.gouvernement.lu.

12 July 2012

The latest Wavelength NewsletterJuly 2012, Issue no. 15 featured an article about the emergency.lu platform. Read the full story "Tech Tidbits: Beach Ball for Emergency Response" Platform".

03 July 2012

Ericsson Response released a new video documenting the humanitarian mission in the Republic of South Sudan. The teams on site are relying on the emergency.lu platform. Link to the video.

02 July 2012

The latest UN-Business Focal Point Newsletter Issue 17 (June 2012) featured an article about the emergency.lu platform. Read the full story "Innovating for Emergency Telecommunications: The "emergency.lu" Platform" on http://business.un.org/en/documents/10382

18 June 2012

emergency.lu was presented at the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF). emergency.lu was present at the booth of GATR Technologies (Stand N° 709). For more information please visit: http://www.aidforumonline.org/

More information is available in the report from the AIDF panel "Another tool in the toolbox" or online http://ictemergency.wfp.org/web/ictepr/wavelength15/another-tool-in-the-toolbox.

View past news

'Presentation of emergency.lu during the visit of His Excellency Mr. BAN Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in Luxembourg on 17 April 2012