Welcome to

Digital Humanitarianism
Can you save the world with your computer?
CCGL 9061
HKU, Common Core
Starter: what do you have in mind
for the topic of this course?
Association map
How does it work?
Write the first 4 words that come to your mind
when you read the expression in the central cell

Then write the first 2 words that come to your

mind when you read each of your 4 entries

You do not have to write highly philosophical /

conceptual / theoretical things, just what comes
first to your mind

https://medium.com/@hannag130/summer-in-vancouver-what-words-come-to-mind-990e27ae33d6
HUMANITARIAN
ACTION
Sharing session
What are the words you wrote first for “humanitarian action”?

Get closer to one of your neighbors

Show her/him your maps, and explain/discuss your choice of words

• Do they relate to previous experiences?
• What are the fields they relate to?
• Do they match your neighbor’s own words?
Keep your association maps, and
take a look back at them at the
end of the course…
Introduction to the course
I provide a lot of details of that:
• You know as well as possible what to expect during the
semester (topic, workload, tutorials, team work,
assessments etc.)

• You can make the right decision whether to attend the

course or not

• It’s a big class, so organization is a must

Overview

1. Logistic details

2. Course content

3. Assessment

4. Teacher &Tutor
1. Logistic details
Lectures: Where & When
Where:
Room MWT6, Meng Wah Building, Main campus

When:
September: Wed. 4, Wed. 11, Wed. 18, Wed. 25
October: Wed. 2, Wed. 9, no class on Wed. 16, Wed. 23, Wed. 30
November: Wed. 6, Wed. 13, Wed. 20, Wed. 27

from 2:30pm to 4:20pm

Tutorials (1/3)

There will be 9 tutorials (50min each), connected to 9 of the 12

lectures

Tutorials take place in the days following the related lecture,

except for one for some groups, because of constraints related
to public holidays

Given the number of students (124), there should be 10 groups; John

Yan, the TA for this course, will coordinate your registration in the
groups
 Tutorials (2/3)
Group # Tutorial #1 Tutorial #2 Tutorial #3 Tutorial #4 Tutorial #5 Tutorial #6 Tutorial #7 Tutorial #8 Tutorial #9 Day Class time Class venue
1 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 11:30-12:20 MB249
2 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 13:30-14:20 MB224
3 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 14:30-15:20 MB133
4 sept-17 sept-24 oct-08 oct-22 oct-29 nov-05 nov-12 nov-19 nov-26 Tuesday 10:30-11:20 MB134
5 sept-17 sept-24 oct-08 oct-22 oct-29 nov-05 nov-12 nov-19 nov-26 Tuesday 11:30-12:20 MB125
6 sept-11 sept-18 oct-02 oct-09 oct-23 oct-30 nov-06 nov-13 nov-20 Wednesday 17:30-18:20 CPD-3.07
7 sept-12 sept-19 oct-03 oct-10 oct-24 oct-31 nov-07 nov-14 nov-21 Thursday 09:30-10:20 MB113G
8 sept-12 sept-19 oct-03 oct-10 oct-24 oct-31 nov-07 nov-14 nov-21 Thursday 10:30-11:20 MB113G
9 sept-13 sept-20 oct-04 oct-11 oct-25 nov-01 nov-08 nov-15 nov-22 Friday 09:30-10:20 MB134

Because the number of registered students increased sharply these last

two days, we need to create (an) additional time slot(s). We’ll update
you shortly on this, and tell you when you can start to register
 Tutorials (3/3)
Group # Tutorial #1 Tutorial #2 Tutorial #3 Tutorial #4 Tutorial #5 Tutorial #6 Tutorial #7 Tutorial #8 Tutorial #9 Day Class time Class venue
1 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 11:30-12:20 MB249
2 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 13:30-14:20 MB224
3 sept-16 sept-23 sept-30 oct-21 oct-28 nov-04 nov-11 nov-18 nov-25 Monday 14:30-15:20 MB133
4 sept-17 sept-24 oct-08 oct-22 oct-29 nov-05 nov-12 nov-19 nov-26 Tuesday 10:30-11:20 MB134
5 sept-17 sept-24 oct-08 oct-22 oct-29 nov-05 nov-12 nov-19 nov-26 Tuesday 11:30-12:20 MB125
6 sept-11 sept-18 oct-02 oct-09 oct-23 oct-30 nov-06 nov-13 nov-20 Wednesday 17:30-18:20 CPD-3.07
7 sept-12 sept-19 oct-03 oct-10 oct-24 oct-31 nov-07 nov-14 nov-21 Thursday 09:30-10:20 MB113G
8 sept-12 sept-19 oct-03 oct-10 oct-24 oct-31 nov-07 nov-14 nov-21 Thursday 10:30-11:20 MB113G
9 sept-13 sept-20 oct-04 oct-11 oct-25 nov-01 nov-08 nov-15 nov-22 Friday 09:30-10:20 MB134

Because of public holidays, the 3rd tutorial will take place two days before the
lecture for groups 1, 2 and 3 (on Monday) (and possibly one or two additional
groups too)

Please register quickly if you have strong time constraints; contact the TA in case of problems.
“Office hours”

No regular office hours

• too many different and conflicting schedules…

Just tell me at the end of a class, or drop

me an email. We’ll find a time slot.

Do not hesitate to come for any question

or issue, or to talk about the course more
generally!

https://www.mememaker.net/meme/office-hours-14304
Course material (1/2)
All the slides will be available online, as well as
reading material
• Moodle
• Access granted since today
Course material (2/2)
A companion book for this course:
Meier, Patrick (2015). Digital
Humanitarians: How Big Data Is
Changing the Face of Humanitarian
Response. Routledge.

(the book is available at the university

bookstore, but the price tag is a bit
high; it is cheaper to order the
electronic version)
2. Course content
Why this course title? (1/2)
Not everybody is willing to, or can, work as a field
humanitarian worker, or a social worker
• Special settings (danger, isolation, psychological pressure),
special skill sets etc.

Yet, you may be willing to contribute to efforts to

make our world a (at least slightly) better one

Thus, can you contribute in another way, “simply”

using your laptop in your usual environment?
• with strong or more limited computer skills
Why this course title? (2/2)
Is this really possible?

What are the options available?

What are the limits?

What are the potential

(especially ethical) pitfalls?
Course philosophy (1/2)
Address together two main questions:

• How is humanitarian action changing and adapting to

the “digital revolution”?
• From past practices to today’s innovations

• What are the available options to join in behind the

screen of one’s computer?
Course philosophy (2/2)
A window opened to the world as it is today, and as it
quickly changes
• Where a very significant proportion of human beings still face multiple difficult
issues
• But where significant progress have also been made

Issues that may easily be out of sight for many of us

• Example: facing hunger
Chronic undernourishment and food crises (1/2)

In 2016, According to the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 815 million
people of the 7.6 billion people in the world were
suffering from chronic undernourishment.

https://www.wfp.org/publications/global-report-food-crises-2018
https://www.worldhunger.org/world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/
Chronic undernourishment and food crises (2/2)

In 2018, “An estimated 124 million

people in 51 countries are currently
facing Crisis food insecurity or worse (…).
Conflict and insecurity continued to be
the primary drivers of food insecurity…”
(Global Report on Food Crises 2018)

https://www.wfp.org/publications/global-report-food-crises-2018
https://www.worldhunger.org/world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/
 Increased food supply
Improved health
Reduced poverty
Democratization
Demographic transition

https://ourworldindata.org/why-do-far-fewer-people-die-in-famines-today
Progress and challenges
Stunting, or low height for age, is
due to long-term insufficient
nutrient intake and frequent
infections.

Occurs usually before age two

Effects largely irreversible:

• delayed motor development
• impaired cognitive function
• poor school performance

Nearly 1/3 of children under 5 in

the developing world are stunted.

Source: UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank, Levels

and Trends in Child Malnutrition, 2018, p. 3 https://www.worldhunger.org/world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/
https://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm
Progress and challenges

Wasting, or low weight for

height, is usually the result of
acute significant food
shortage and/or disease.

Strong predictor of mortality

among children under five.

Source: UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank, Levels

and Trends in Child Malnutrition, 2018, p. 3 https://www.worldhunger.org/world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/
https://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm
Progress and challenges

 Less children
suffering from chronic
undernourishment,
but more overweight
children

Source: UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank, Levels

and Trends in Child Malnutrition, 2018, p. 3 https://www.worldhunger.org/world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/
https://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm
Being hungry in one of the world’s richest cities

“In 2011, our base year, Hong Kong people

threw away about 3,600 tonnes of food waste
every day… Our food waste disposal is
equivalent to throwing away the weight of
approximately 250 double-decker buses every
24 hours or nearly 100,000 double-decker
buses every year.”
(A Food Waste & Yard Waste Plan for Hong Kong 2014-2022.
Environment Bureau)

Is it that visible in our everyday lives?

https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/food_waste_challenge.html
Being hungry in one of the world’s richest cities

“The concept of hunger is often linked to starvation. In Hong Kong

hunger is regularly overlooked because people are not starving…
However, relative deprivation does exist in Hong Kong: food
consumed by lower-income households can be less nutritious and of
poorer quality compared to the general population.”
(HKFP, 27 November 2016 - Hungry for a decent diet: Poor families in Hong Kong can’t afford to eat well, by
Megan Leung, Doris Yu and Achlys Xu)

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2115513/living-hk15-meal-left-me-feeling-deprived-antisocial-and
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2016/11/27/hungry-decent-diet-poor-families-hong-kong-cant-afford-eat-well/
Being hungry in one of the world’s richest cities

Around 2014, 40,000 people could not afford to have

three meals a day and 70,000 people did not have
fresh fruit and vegetables to eat every day.
(Social Work Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Hong Kong Council of Social
Service (2014). “Trends and Implications of Poverty and Social Disadvantages in Hong Kong: A Multi-
disciplinary and Longitudinal Study”)

How does it feel like to be hungry every day?

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2115513/living-hk15-meal-left-me-feeling-deprived-antisocial-and
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2016/11/27/hungry-decent-diet-poor-families-hong-kong-cant-afford-eat-well/
A step forward? The Child Growth Monitor App

An app to
monitor child
growth using
augmented
reality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2doV43jdwg
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
• CLO1: Describe the main trends, actors and recent technological
developments in the field of humanitarianism.
• CLO2: Analyze the complexity of real situations and of possible
digital responses
• CLO 3: Use some of the software tools available to digital
volunteers
• CLO 4: Criticize the current approaches in digital humanitarianism
• CLO 5: Reflect on the notion of global citizenship in the light of
humanitarian endeavors
Overview of the classes and
projects
Date Lecture
Sept. 4 Week 1: General introduction to the course
Sept. 11 Week 2: Humanitarianism and humanitarian action
Sept. 18 Week 3: Looking beyond the surface: challenges, critiques and ideologies
Sept. 25 Week 4: The digital revolution of humanitarian action
Oct. 2 Week 5: Collaborative mapping of emergency areas
Oct. 9 Week 6: Mapping social issues in the city
Oct. 23 Week 7: Analyzing social media in crisis situations
Oct. 30 Week 8: Online petitions
Nov. 6 Week 9: From human analysis to automatic analysis in humanitarian action
Nov. 13 Week 10: Smart ideas for a better world
Nov. 20 Week 11: Ethical challenges of digital humanitarianism
Nov. 27 Week 12: Wrapping-up

Reading week: 14 October – 20 October

Date Lecture
04/09 #1: General introduction to the course No tutorial

11/09 #2: Humanitarianism and humanitarian action #1: Critical reading of crisis reports

18/09 #3: Looking beyond the surface: challenges, critiques and ideologies #2: Debating humanitarian interventions

25/09 #4: The digital revolution of humanitarian action No tutorial

#3: Learning crowd-mapping for humanitarian

02/10 #5: Collaborative mapping of emergency areas
purposes

09/10 #6: Mapping social issues in the city #4: Preparing the “HK streets walkability” project

23/10 #7: Analyzing social media in crisis situations #5: Categorizing “emergency” tweets

30/10 #8: Online petitions #6: Analyzing NGO communication

06/11 #9: From human analysis to automatic analysis in humanitarian action #7: Evaluating walkability with images of HK streets

13/11 #10: Smart ideas for a better world #8: Brainstorming session: tackling a social issue
#9: Investigating the output of the “HK streets
20/11 #11: Ethical challenges of digital humanitarianism
walkability” project
27/11 #12: Wrapping-up No tutorial
Time periods for the 9 tutorials
Tutorial Time period

#1: Critical reading of crisis reports 11/9 – 17/9

#2: Debating humanitarian interventions 18/9 – 24/9

#3: Learning crowd-mapping for humanitarian purposes 30/9 & 2/10 – 8/10

#4: Preparing the “HK streets walkability” project 09/10 – 22/10

#5: Categorizing “emergency” tweets 23/10 – 29/10

#6: Analyzing NGO communication 30/10 – 05/11

#7: Evaluating walkability with images of HK streets 06/11 – 12/11

#8: Brainstorming session: tackling a social issue 13/11 – 19/11
#9: Investigating the output of the “HK streets walkability” project 20/11 – 26/11
Required and recommended reading
On Moodle, besides the lecture slides, each topic will be
supplemented with a number of required and recommended reading
• As indicated on Moodle

Do not worry if some aspects of some papers are hard to understand.

Always try to get the general picture, the context, the key issue, the
conflicting arguments etc.
The course projects (1/3)
1. Crowd-sourced mapping project
for humanitarian purposes
• Creating better maps for a poorly
mapped region of the world
• Use of satellite imagery to locate
buildings
• Each group will spend a number of
hours mapping part of the target region
• Output for assessment: a poster
summarizing the situation of the
surveyed area, what has been done and
learnt during the process

https://www.spatialsource.com.au/latest-news/crowd-sourced-mapping-effort-for-nepal
The course projects (2/3)
2. “HK streets walkability project”
• An exploratory project
• A survey of HK streets in terms of how
easy they are to walk (especially for
elder people, families and kids)
• Each group will take regularly spaced
geotagged photos of sidewalks in an HK
neighborhood (at different times)
• Walkability will be assessed with a
computer test involving the human
comparison of pairs of photos

https://www.free-city-guides.com/hong-kong/streets-of-hong-kong/
The course projects (3/3)
2. “HK streets walkability project”
• Production of digital maps for
walkability and identification of the
important factors
• Deep-learning could be later applied to
the set of photos to see whether a
machine can learn to predict how
walkable a street is
• Output for assessment: each group will
produce a short video to explain the
issue at hand and what they have done.

https://www.free-city-guides.com/hong-kong/streets-of-hong-kong/
3. Assessment
From numbers to
letters (current grading
system at HKU)
Components of the assessment
The course is assessed on the basis of course work - there is no
examination

3 components for the assessment of the course:

• A reflective diary (30% of the final grade)
• A poster summarizing group participation to the mapping project (aka mapping
poster) (35% of the final grade)
• A short video summarizing group participation to the “HK streets walkability
project” (aka “streets video”) (35% of the final grade)
Reflective diary (1/2)
At the end of lectures 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, you will be given an open
question to answer (maximum 400 words)

Your answers will be a way to think deeper about the lecture content,
and will altogether constitute a small reflective diary for the course

Your entries will be submitted via Moodle

Deadline for completing each entry: one week after the lecture
Reflective diary (2/2)
Content (17 points)
Clarity: Is the content of your diary easy to read and to understand? (3 points)
Structure: Is your argumentation well structured? (3 points)
Quality: Are your ideas rich/interesting/original? (4 points)
Reflection: Do you report well how the course content made you reflect and think deeper? (4 points)
References: Have you looked for additional sources of information and are they well reported? (3 points)

Surface (4.5 points)

Formatting: Is your document well formatted and presented? (1.5 points)
Length: Is your document of the required length? (1 point)
Language: Are your orthography and grammar good enough? (2 points)

The total number of points will be divided by 5 to get a grade over 4.3
Mapping poster (1/2)
Main goal: Report on your experience of crowd-sourced mapping

Your poster will summarize the situation of the surveyed area, what and
how much you did, the difficulties you faced and what you learnt during
the process

Groups of 7 students

The posters will be submitted via Moodle (best option: pdf format)

Deadline: Sunday 3 November, midnight

Mapping poster (2/2)
Content (14 points)
Quantity: Did you do the requested mapping? (4 points)
Clarity: Is the content of your poster easy to read and to understand? (3 points)
Quality: Is the content rich, accurate and interesting? (4 points)
References: Do you have sources enriching your work and are they well reported? (3
points)

Surface (7.5 points)

Formatting: Is your poster of good visual quality (nice images, good organization) (4
points)
Images/figures: Do you have meaningful and well-captioned images/figures? (2 points)
Language: Are your orthography and grammar good enough? (1.5 points)

The grade over 21.5 points will be divided by 5 to obtain a grade over 4.3 points
Street video (1/3)
Main goal: Report on your experience of the “HK streets walkability” project

Your video will showcase your work in the streets, the variety of situations you
encountered, the difficulties you faced, your collaborative work and what you learnt
during the project. Strong impact will be key.

Group of 7 students

Video between 3 and 5 minutes, with English subtitles

The videos will be submitted on USB keys, or via an online file sharing system

Deadline: Sunday 8 December, midnight

Street video (3/3)
Photo-taking and judgment task
• Accuracy: Did you correctly survey the zone you were assigned? (4 points)
• Quantity: Did you take enough (good) pictures and did you make enough judgments of walkability? (3 points)

Clarity of the explanations in the video

• Clarity: Is your content easy to understand for people without prior knowledge? (2.5 points)
• Structure: Is the content well structured? (2 points)
• Language: Is your language of good quality (in terms of grammatical constructions)? (1 point)

Technical quality of the video

• Editing: Is the editing good and original? (2 points)
• Technique: Is the quality of the image/sound good (1 point)

Impact of the video

• Conviction power: Are you convincing? (3 points)
• Entertainment: Is your video attractive, fun and lively? (3 points)

The grade over 21.5 points will be divided by 5 to obtain a grade over 4.3 points
About length/duration

Don’t write too much, don’t speak

too much, don’t show too much

Focus on quality rather than on

quantity

(A very important soft skill for your

professional life later)
Final grade

The grades of the three components of the assessment with be

averaged with the aforementioned weights. Your final grade will
be between 0 and 4.3.

Gradefinal = 0.3 x Gradediary + 0.35 x Gradeposter + 0.5 x Gradevideo

Letter grades will be assigned on the basis

of the numerical grades
Submitting assignments
Late submissions will be accepted on a case-by-case basis (proof of a
medical problem, of an emergency etc.) with possible penalty

Addressing issues of free-riding:

• For the “mapping poster” and the “street video”, each group will return a
document stating who did what, signed by all members of the group
• Problems will be addressed on a case-by-case basis
Relationship of the assessments to the ILOs
Reflective diary
• CLO 1: Describe the main trends, actors and recent technological developments in the field of
humanitarianism.
• CLO 2: Analyze the complexity of real situations and of possible digital responses
• CLO 4: Criticize the current approaches in digital humanitarianism
• CLO 5: Reflect on the notion of global citizenship in the light of humanitarian endeavors

“Mapping poster”
• CLO 2: Analyze the complexity of real situations and of possible digital responses
• CLO 3: Use some of the software tools available to digital volunteers

“Street video”
• CLO 2: Analyze the complexity of real situations and of possible digital responses
• CLO 3: Use some of the software tools available to digital volunteers
What feedback will you get
You will receive your grade for each assessment, along with details of
the points received

You will receive some additional comments / suggestions to improve

For each entry of the reflective diary, a collective feedback will be

given
Evaluating the course, the teacher & the tutor
During the last class, time will be devoted to ‘SETL’ (Student
Evaluation of Teaching and Learning)
• Another teacher will come while you fill the forms online
• Responses will be anonymous
• http://setl.hku.hk

Your positive or negative comments will help to improve the course

4. Teacher & Tutor
The teacher
Christophe Coupé
• Department of Linguistics, HKU
• Recruited in 2018, previously at the French National Center for Scientific Research
• Education and research in computer science & cognitive science
• Three years as an international volunteer for a French NGO in SE Asia

Email: ccoupe@hku.hk

Office: Room 9.14, 9/F, Department of Linguistics, Run Run Shaw Tower
The tutor (for the tutorials)
John Yan

Fresh HKU Graduate!

Email: yanjohn@hku.hk
Who are you? (2/2)

Why did you come today?

What attracted you initially in the course?
Why teaching a course on digital
humanitarianism?
Sharing an experience
Coordinating development projects in Laos and Thailand
Witnessing challenges
Facing (much smaller) challenges…
From dire conditions…
To new constructions…
Final results
Nurturing an expertise in school toilets…
Meeting remarkable people
Building up on fieldwork
Further reflect on the experience

Try to contribute as a teacher

Combine two fields of interest – humanitarian action

and data science