Skype has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Humanitarian workers in the most remote parts of the world will soon have a new and low-cost way to communicate with their colleagues, friends, and families thanks to an unprecedented partnership between Skype and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
We’ve developed a bespoke, low-bandwidth version of Skype for use in 120 hardship locations served by UNHCR staff members around the world. Aid workers in these locations are typically separated from their families for months at a time, sometimes with very little notice, and have limited opportunities for communication.
Currently, all UNHCR employees have to pay for personal phone calls. Now, the UNHCR version of Skype provides both free and low-cost voice and video calls over the Internet even when connection quality is poor.
The new software has been tested successfully in Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan and is now available to 1,010 staff stationed in remote locations in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Chad, Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Uganda.
By the end of 2010, we plan for that to grow to more than 2,072 members of staff across 60 UNHCR locations including Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. By the end of 2011, the aim is for Skype to be in at least 80% of UNHCR hardship locations and available to more than 3,000 staff members.
Mohammad Faisal from UNHCR and Antoine Bertout from Skype discuss the techncial challenges and solutions of the partnership project.
We’re also exploring the development of a communications solution that will benefit refugees more directly. Using the knowledge and experience from the deployment of Skype to UNHCR staff, the solution will aim to allow refugees to reach their family and friends across borders and will also be used to help with repatriation, resettlement and family reunification – watch this space.
Skype is dedicated to using our software to enable immersive experiences and effect social change by breaking down the barriers to connect people all over the world. Our partnership with UNHCR delivers on this mission in a most extraordinary way.
Understanding the need to secure financial resources for refugees and to further support this partnership, Skype is contributing financially to UNHCR. We’ll begin a campaign to increase public awareness of UNHCR operations and help raise additional funds. To find out more and donate, visit our partnership website.
How can I obtain this version of Skype for use by the medical relief and health development organizations that I am working with in DR Congo?
@baertracks – thanks for your comment. UNHCR is the first partner to benefit from this low-bandwidth version of Skype for Windows. A large dispersed organization such as UNHCR is an ideal testing environment to evaluate the performance of this software in a wide variety of challenging connectivity networks. At the moment we are focused on ensuring a successful roll-out of Skype to a planned 80 to 85 per cent of UNHCR “hardship” locations before the end of 2011.
As such, it is not currently available to other organisations or the general public to download. It is clear to us however, that others could benefit from the changes and the lessons learned during the evaluation of the software that Skype has developed for UNHCR. Unfortunately, however, we are unable able to talk about our future intentions and can only discuss our partnership with UNHCR at present.
Sorry I can’t be of any more immediate help!
I, too, would like this version when it is available, as it would likely work on my mobile satellite service. Skype video works quite well, with some delay, but phone calls are impossible. Even on my mobile broadband stick, phone calls are often not very good because of a weak signal.
I’d like to propose that the low-bandwidth edition of Skype be made available to the general public as soon as possible.
I’ll approach UNHCR about this too but from my perspective:
* Skype is used every day by individuals and organisations using relatively low-bandwidth, variable latency, and intermittent quality connections. By offering a “beta” release of a low bandwidth edition, users can make a choice to use it and contribute feedback as they see fit, just as with your existing beta releases.
* UNHCR does work that directly saves lives; I’m sure they operate in locations that offer an “ideal testing environment”, but you can find these environments elsewhere, in situations that don’t have such critical communications needs. I’m not suggesting testing with UNHCR is a bad idea, but doing so exclusively is a missed opportunity.
* The marginal cost of making low-bandwidth Skype available to the general public seems small and the potential benefits seem high. If you’re unable to make low bandwidth Skype available to the general public because of the agreement with UNHCR, the agreement is a poor one for both parties. If your response falls under the “not able to discuss the partnership” I find myself frustrated at UNHCR for entering into this kind of agreement.
Critical words aside: this is very welcome news and I wish the development of the technology and the Skype / UNHCR partnership every success.
Dear Tariq Khokhar,
I have read your comments and they are pretty interesting. Do you work for a UN organization?
Cheers,
Faisal.