REFUNITE Attends Betterplace Labtogether Conference in Berlin, Germany

On November 20th, 2015, REFUNITE’s Africa Director Nishant Shah spoke at the Betterplace Labtogether conference in Berlin, Germany’s leading conference on digital innovation for public good. The conference brings together technologists, innovators and entrepreneurs. This year’s conference covered themes such as “The Future of Work”, “Digital Refugee Support” and “The Internet of Things.”

During his keynote, Nishant showcased REFUNITE’s family reconnection platform and screened Estelle’s Story on stage, which is a story of a refugee who was reconnected with her sister through REFUNITE. Nishant reflected on REFUNITE’s challenges, such as delivering complex technologies to communities without access to the Internet. Nishant stressed the importance of data and gave examples of markets, where REFUNITE data-driven approach has resulted in more searches, matches and family-reconnections.

After his keynote, Nishant joined Ms. Anne Kjaer Riechert from Refugees on Rails in a panel discussion about the potential, and limitations, of digital refugee support. Both panelists agreed that technology has the opportunity to reach many people. Yet, it is key to not lose focus on the users and those you are developing these services for. There was also a consensus that organizations ought to narrow their focus if they want to have a big impact.

After the panel, Nishant and Anne facilitated a two hour session where attendees and newly arrived Syrian refugees co-created potential answers the question, “How might refugees & Berliners develop new projects together to improve the community?” Refugees and Berliners interviewed each other, formulated specific problem statements, ideated potential solutions, and rapidly prototyped the most promising ideas.