The U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and Samhita Social Ventures, organized a "PeaceTech Exchange" event on December 6-7, 2014. The event aimed to explore how technology can aid in preventing gender-based violence. It gathered over 50 Indian technology experts and civil society representatives.
Philip Roskamp, the Consulate's Public Affairs Officer, highlighted the significance of the event by stating, "Western India has a number of technologically savvy individuals and organizations doing great work to prevent gender-based violence. Through this event, NGOs can learn about how to use new technologies to promote women’s safety and empowerment."
The exchange featured training sessions conducted by technology experts from India and one from the United States. These sessions focused on using connective technologies such as online maps, text messaging, video, and social media platforms. Participants learned about crowd-mapping, crowd-funding, citizen journalism, and digital storytelling as tools for achieving their objectives.
Sheldon Himelfarb, Director of USIP’s PeaceTech Initiative, emphasized the potential of technology for positive change: “We are fortunate that today we have unprecedented opportunities to use technology to bring about positive change, but we believe that wider collaboration across disciplines and organizations is needed to tackle complex problems like gender-based violence.”
Priya Naik from Samhita Social Ventures remarked on the outcomes of the event: “This event has not only initiated new discussions on the critical issue of gender-based violence but it has also encouraged the development of partnerships between local civil society organizations and technology experts.”
The PeaceTech Exchange was part of a broader initiative by the Consulate supporting the United Nations' "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence" campaign. Alongside this exchange program, a short film festival promoting women's safety was held on December 5.