ODI Fridays: The problem with using open source for building humanitarian tools

Open source design has a plethora of hurdles to leap before it could become fully adopted by the global design community. These challenges include exploitative ‘work for free attitudes’, how software doesn’t yet allow for robust and collaborative versioning across different designers and how the open source community as a whole is over represented by those with privilege, access and ability. Ushahidi builds humanitarian tools, remotely for some of the most marginalised people across the globe. Its lead designer Eriol Fox will talk us through how they’ve been piloting a series of design jams to solve the problems of how open source design can work by engaging through meaningful technology that makes a difference in the world. Come if you want to understand the impact design can have in the humanitarian and open source software sector and how to engage designers in humanitarian and tech for good causes. It’s ideal for anyone interested in the future of how OSS and humanitarian tech tools looks