As Europe deals with the greatest refugee crisis since World War II, the public, non-profit and for-profit sectors have responded with a great surge of help, which some even believe rivals that of the government. Businesses, in particular, have seen an increase in participation including from the automakers, fast food chains, banks and sports clubs.
Tech giants and start-ups are also playing a prominent role. Most of their efforts are focused on partnerships with charities and donating programs. This blog highlights a few of the most interesting examples I’ve come across:
- UberGIVING is an initiative launched by car-hailing app, Uber, in partnership with Save the Children. Uber facilitates the logistics behind the donations by doing what it does best; collecting and dropping off. By simply opening the app and clicking on the GIVING function, one can order a car to collect unwanted items which were then sold in Save the Children Shops. The success of the venture is stated on their site: ‘Over the course of three days in 46 European cities, thousands of riders and hundreds of partner-drivers… collected enough donations to fill 10 shipping containers.’
- Tech giant, Google, has not been absent from the action. It has taken an approach not usually associated with the tech sector, evoking emotions by making it personal. Instead of a CEO announcement, Google chose employee, Rita Masoud, to introduce the donation-matching campaign by relating the crisis to her own childhood experience where she was forced to flee Kabul with her family. Google has surpassed its plan of reaching $11 million after just three days and has collected a total of $14 million.
- Apple also launched a match-giving initiative: it pledged to match employee donations by 2-to-1. CEO Tim Cook’s internal message stated, “Apple is dedicated to advancing human rights around the world. We hope the actions we’re taking will help make the situation less desperate for some, and ease the hardship so many are enduring.” Apple is also increasing awareness and facilitating donations for the Red Cross, by encouraging donations via the App Store and iTunes Store.
- In addition to these larger tech companies, there are numerous smaller start-ups applying technology know-how to humanitarian efforts. A few include Support to Life, which equips field workers with tablets to facilitate their refugee record-collection, and Refunite, a start-up connecting refugees to their lost relatives and loved ones.
This issue is one that will be prevalent in years to come and could affect all kinds of businesses employing people in any of the countries affected. Response from companies is crucial as the influx of skills provides opportunities for companies in any sector.
What can tech experts do? Use their powerful ability to connect different entities. Some have begun by forming partnerships with charities, a useful step for their donations to be put to good use. However, the next act could be to further apply their resources, skills and extensive outreach to connect to the larger audience.
However, some argue this is not enough. More could be seen from these and other giants of technology. For example, how about shaping societal attitudes towards refugees? That would be a big challenge for any company to overcome.
It could be a great opportunity for social networking sites to humanize the story of the refugees and allow the public to hear a more personal account than that transmitted through the news. A greater welcoming experience is crucial for a smoother integration, a feat sports clubs have already started working on.
Tech giants have been able to develop successful solutions to corporate issues with enabling programs such as Google’s ‘20 percent time’. A suggestion put forward is to apply this principle to more tech giants but to shift the creative thinking towards ideas and potential solutions to larger developing problems like that of the refugee crisis. Further examples include using Google Maps’ technical expertise to provide support to humanitarian organizations, similar to what OpenStreetMap does.
In the week that will see the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, it’s worth reflecting on the leading role that tech companies can play in solving some of the big challenges facing our world.