WeAreVOST 2018

Contribution List

20. Debunking rumors in Twitter to support the official communication efforts during the Barcelona 2017 Terrorist Attack: A VOST Case Study

Silvia Planella (University College of Cork)

TRACK A

Lecture

Social Media has proven to be a useful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as mass and peer-to-peer communication channel before, during and after disasters and emergencies. User generated content provides a broader coverage and more up-to-date information of crisis events than traditional media. Many emergency management agencies are embracing social media as a channel for alerts,...

17. Dumfries and Galloway VOST (Scotland)

Mr Adam Potts, Mr Mark Thomson

TRACK A

Lecture

Social media has become an increasingly important tool for responding organisations to share information with the public. During an emergency, it can be crucial that people in affected areas are able to obtain accurate and timely information. By the same token, responders benefit from being able to gather intelligence from the public, validate, deploy resources as required and disseminate any...

10. Fighting hoaxes across borders

Laurent Alfonso (laurentalfonso@vosteurope.eu), Iratxe Gomez Susaeta (VOST Europe)

At 22h on August 19th 2017, just after Barcelona & Cambrils attacks, and with the Spanish Vuelta about to start from Nimes (France), media and social networks in Spain began talking about an active shooter situation in the train station of Nimes.
Cpt. Alfonso from SDIS30 (also coordinator of VOST Europe) was on shift in Nimes, and Iratxe Gomez was monitoring the situation from Spain, and we...

11. How to set-up new VOST?

VOST Europe Coordination (VOST Europe)

TRACK B

Discussion

A well defined collaboration with emergency response organisations is the key to a successful Virtual Operations Support Team.
The VOST Europe team will present the actual footprint of VOST around the world, provide guidelines for the creation of new teams, give examples of organisation models and collaboration agreements with public authorities in different countries, and discuss some...

14. Misinformation, Disinformation and sharks in the street

Sara-Jayne Terp

TRACK A

Lecture

Misinformation is normal in a crisis. Deliberate disinformation is relatively new, and includes recent nation state attempts to create confusion and panic. This talk covers some of the history of misinformation in crises, and recent work on containing its effects, including VOST work during hurricane Irma.

16. The E2mc Project

Fahd Benatia (SERTIT - University of Strasbourg )

TRACK A

Lecture

The goal of the E2mC H2020 project is to demonstrate feasibility and usefulness of the integration of social media analysis and crowdsourced information within both the Rapid Mapping and Early Warning Components of Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS). In recent years, several operational experiences (large earthquakes such as the one in Central Italy in 2016/2017 or large hurricanes...

15. To be taken seriously, you need a brand

Joanna Lane (VOSG)

TRACK B

Lecture

Developing a broad and strategic approach to creating and managing your brand helps a new VOST gain trust, greater social impact and tighter organizational cohesion. Credibility is gained faster by taking a business approach, branding the VOST as part of a professional and organized group. Without leveraging the VOST brand, it would have been much harder for many new VOSTs to gain public...

13. VOST Americas: Hurricane Harvey Activation 2017

Ms Joanna Lane (VOSG.us), Ms Sarah-Jayne Terp (VOST Americas / NYVOST)

TRACK A

Discussion

After Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas in 2017, FEMA asked VOSG (different teams in the VOST Americas region, coordinated by Americorps for Texas VOAD) to monitor social media inquiries on donations and spontaneous volunteers being collected and arriving in Texas. FEMA also requested simultaneous English/Spanish amplification of official donations/volunteer messages on social media.
This...

8. VOST Europe in the Catalonian Attacks of August 2017

Laurent Alfonso (VOST Europe), Iratxe Gomez Susaeta (VOST Europe)

The 1st attack happened shortly after 17:00h on the 17th August in Barcelona, and the 2nd around 01:30 on the 18th in Cambrils. VOST Europe volunteers participated from very early on, mainly to support VOSTcat and VOST Spain, but also to amplify key messages (including the ones from foreign offices).
Laurent Alfonso and Iratxe Gomez were active for VOST Europe; Iratxe was also active with her...

9. VOST Europe in the Stockholm Attack of April 2017

Laurent Alfonso (VOST Europe), Iratxe Gomez Susaeta (VOST Europe)

This terrible attack happened on the afternoon of April 7th 2017. With no local VOST presence, but with several international VOST teams looking into it, the VOST Europe core team felt the need to amplify and translate key messages into English, French and Spanish.
Incidentally this happened right after the end of the EENA Conference 2017, in which VOST Europe had had a relevant presence. In...