ICRC and CERN collaborate on R&D in technology for humanitarian action

Today, representatives of the Cyberspace Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross came to CERN for the first time in a series of knowledge sharing using free and open source technologies to support critical humanitarian work around the world. . These technologies are being explored as a means to pursue their neutrality, neutrality and freedom of human action in the digital environment. CERN and the ICRC have signed a cooperation agreement which will allow members of CERN’s IT department to provide training on selected technologies and share their experience.

Technologies covered include Indico, CERN’s popular event organizing platform, CERNBox for data storage and sharing; Noodle created by CERN to help with meeting scheduling; CERN’s single-signal solution for authentication; and OpenStack, a popular open source cloud computing tool that CERN contributes to and is used to manage computers in the data center at CERN.

The ICRC is an independent, independent organization that works to ensure humanitarian protection and assistance to victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national laws.

At today’s event, the ICRC was represented by its Luxembourg-based Cyberspace Delegation and six members of the Geneva-based Data Protection Bureau’s Tech Hub. They are responsible for investigating and testing research and development and technology to deploy services in an independent, neutral and independent manner to populations affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. Their aim is to explore how the work of the ICRC, as well as the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the wider humanitarian community, can be adapted to those affected by humanitarian emergencies worldwide.

“With this collaboration, we aim to develop new research and development opportunities related to the use of free and open source software development as well as cooperation in cyber security,” said Enrica Porcari, head of CERN’s IT department. “We work to share knowledge, experience and tools in this area.”

“We will also identify new challenges and develop guidelines to help arm the humanitarian and academic sectors with the necessary tools to navigate them,” Porcari continued. “This is an important opportunity for us to further enhance CERN’s positive impact on society.”

CERN is at the heart of the open science movement, supported by sharing open data and creating open tools. ICRC and CERN share institutional characteristics and interests, namely neutrality, impartiality, independence, transparency, data protection and cyber security. Both organizations understand the importance of transparency and building pillars of knowledge. Both value convenient, affordable, easy-to-use computing tools that enable them to fulfill their respective missions, from protecting vulnerable populations to advancing science.

Massimo Marelli, Head of the ICRC’s Cyberspace Mission in Luxembourg, said: “This collaboration with CERN is an important enabler to further our exploration of neutrality, neutrality and freedom of humanitarian action in digital space.” “In particular, to do this, we will work together with CERN to develop their free and open source software tools in the Delegation for Cyberspace environment and test new functions and tools as well as methods of operation.”

At today’s event, initial plans were made for a more in-depth training session later in the year. Learn more about this new collaboration that will further enhance the positive impact of CERN technologies on the wider community, via announcement It was published on the ICRC website today.

CERN works closely with other international organizations in Geneva to increase its positive impact on society. For example, CERN hosts UNOSAT, the United Nations Satellite Centre, and has an agreement with the United Nations Office in Geneva to collaborate on Indico, a popular open source platform for organizing events.