A new space for collaboration convergence and knowledge

A new space for collaboration, convergence and knowledge sharing between Public Health Institutions in Canada and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Dr. Theresa Bernardo, Manager Knowledge Management and Communication Pan American Health Organization World Health Organization

Today’s Presentation 1) Description: PAHO’s innovation with web 2. 0 • Content Management System (Joomla) • Web conferencing in a crisis (H 1 N 1) 2) Offering: What PAHO can do for you 3) Discussion: What would the CCCs like to do? 4) Call to action! Volunteers? Next steps

Web 2. 0: ? ? ? ?

Web 2. 0: Social Networking • Web used to be about finding information • Now its about interacting with each other!! Eg. blogs, wikis, Facebook, My. Space, Twitter, texting, web-enabled cell-phones … People on site could update a blog, send a picture and consult an expert

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA About PAHO

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA About PAHO Web 2. 0

Country offices Regional site WHO 97 entities PAHO Centers

Pandemic H 1 N 1 2009 Web conference 3 languages & Interpretation ww w ww Ministers of Health PAHO Regional Office – Task force w All PAHO Country Offices and Centers

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA No. of Virtual Meetings per month

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA Ministry of Health Guyana - webconferencing • 2 yr postgraduate surgery program • Mo. H, main hospital, CIDA and Canadian Institutions (UBC, U of T, Mc. Master U. ) • 5 graduates establishing surgery programs in regional hospitals (another 5 grads in Nov 09) • H 1 N 1 meetings with PAHO and dissemination of information to public health officials • staff and partners participate from their workstations without need for special setup • participation of nat’l professionals in technical events • comm/collaboration in decentralized environment • phone costs and need for calls • travel costs, while enabling coverage of vast distances

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA PAHO Web 2. 0 – Canada

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA Governance board of the Portal • PAHO • Health Canada • CIDA • CIHR • DFAIT • IDRC • PHAC

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA OBJECTIVES OF THE PORTAL: • To inform Canadians, PAHO Staff, PAHO partners and countries of the Americas about PAHO-Canada relations • To enhance PAHO-Canada relations by providing increased opportunities for knowledge sharing, partnership, and technical cooperation • To offer opportunities for Canadians to be engaged in international health • To highlight employment and funding opportunities • To highlight Canada’s best practices in health to an international audience

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA

PAHO’s Offering 1) A web account for each CCC (Joomla) 2) Virtual rooms that could be configured for • The entire group of CCCs • Each CCC and their partners • Other? 3) Training and support for 1) and 2) above

7 July 2005 London England 8: 50 am: three synchronous bombs exploded

9: 08 am: First Entries in Wikipedia - geography

The Wisdom of Crowds “By the end of the day, over 2500 users had created a comprehensive 14 page account of the event that was much more detailed than the information provided by any single news outlet. " Reference: Tapscott D. & Williams A. D. 2006. Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything. Portfolio (Penguin), New York, 65.

29 Aug 2005 Gulf Coast USA Hurricane Katrina: 1500 dead, a million displaced

Notices were posted in hundreds of online forums http: //www. blogherald. com/2005/08/31/hurricane-katrina-missing-persons-appeal/ I’m looking for my daddy, Kenrick Bennett ! Last time seen was Aug 28, 2005 please call me anybody. Also Brandon Gilmore and family, Je’von Baker, and her family. My cell is (504)329 -1779 my location is Florida. Cell is working please call anybody !!! LOOKING FOR MY SON DAVID CASLER WIFE MARI AND KIDS …………… PLEASE CALL US AT 850 777 -7579 CELL ………. . Please, I am deperate to find out information on Jones County, particularly Laurel. I have parents that I cannot contact. My father is in poor health and needs a power supply to survive. I fled Hattiesburg yesterday and am now in Jacksonville, FL. Their names are John and Charlotte Mosley. Please, PLEASE contact my at slimshadygrove 25@hotmail. com with ANY information. Thank you.

Order Out of Chaos Tech-savvy volunteers: • deployed an automated process to scour the web, extracting essential information for collation in a central database • authored an open source standard for missing persons data: “People. Finder Interchange Format” • set up a wiki to organize who was doing what Result: a single site searchable by name, zip code or address (> 1 million searches conducted)

Lessons Learned § “thousands of dispersed volunteers can create fast, fluid and innovative projects that outperform those of the largest and best-financed enterprises” § appeared to be spontaneous, but instigators had experience in the open source software industry (whereby programmers share and build upon each other’s code) § they simply applied their skills, using these powerful tools and practices, to a new situation. Reference: Tapscott D. & Williams A. D. 2006. Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything. Portfolio (Penguin), New York, 65.

New Zealand: Wiki-based Laws • Citizens will rewrite New Zealand laws! • Police Superintendent Hamish Mc. Cardle calls the move “a new frontier in democracy” • He says “people generally are constructive and productive” Source: Daily. Tech, Sept. 28, 2007

Discussion Questions 1) Name three ways you would like to see the Portal used to meet the current challenges faced by Collaborating Centers. 2) Provide an imaginary example of how you might be able to use the Portal five years hence.

Call to Action! 1) Does your Collaborating Center want to participate? 2) Next steps: 1) designate a focal point 2) have them send an email to ccc@paho. org identifying the CCC they represent and we will follow up with them

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA Thank you!!

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA Goals of collaboration Government of Canada partner institutions will form part of a PAHO Technical Advisory Group on the development and maintenance of the PAHO-Canada Portal. The primary goals of their collaboration will be to: • Advance Canada’s relations with the Americas region and with PAHO. • • Promote PAHO-Canada projects among PAHO member states. • • Ensure that the website continues to be relevant to its target audience, the general public and health professionals in the Region the Americas.

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA MISSION OF THE PORTAL: To increase the visibility of Canada-PAHO relations in order to promote a broader and richer dialogue on health issues in the Americas. VISION OF THE PORTAL: A space for user-based collaboration, convergence and knowledge sharing on health issues among Canada, the countries of the Americas, and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA Governance board responsibilities To review progress on the website in light of its goals to: a) ensure that the website continues to be relevant to its target audience, the general public and health professionals in the Region of the Americas, b) advance Canada’s relations with the Americas region and with PAHO, and c) c) promote PAHO-Canada projects among PAHO Member States. The Board will also advise PAHO on partnership applications from Canadian institutions.

PAHO Web 2. 0 - CANADA

Entities sites Campus VHL PAHO Web 2. 0 Projects sites Equity Convergence List serv Standards WHO Web Centers Scalability Integration – One WHO sites Global Health (WWW) Inter-operability- PH Information Sources Scien. TI Blogs Sci. ELO Countries sites