Public Interest Registry has handed out three more of their 2020 .ORG Impact Awards to .ORG registrants that are connecting communities, making a difference, and utilising the internet to drive transformative change. There are ten awards in total, one handed out each day during their 10 Days of .ORG. The three latest winners are The Crisis Tracker, Mangrove Action Project and Food For Free.
Last Friday PIR gave out the Innovation Award category to Invisible Children, for their collaboration with U.S. AID to create Crisis Tracker –a programme aggregating information on violent activity throughout the Mbomou Uele border region in central Africa. Since Oct 217, the Crisis Tracker and Invisible Children’s Early Warning System have helped activate 110 successful rapid responses to armed group activity and intercommunal violence from local protection actors which has helped improve security in remote areas of the Central African Republic (CAR) & the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Invisible Children staff and partners on the ground in central Africa work together with local communities and crisis mapping experts at our headquarters to collect and verify reports of attacks sent via Invisible Children’s Early Warning Network. Invisible Children then disseminates this information to humanitarian and security actors, conservation experts, and local partner organisations via the Crisis Tracker email and WhatsApp alert system and uploaded to a secure, online crisis mapping portal.
The impact of this system has helped communities in these regions tremendously. Since October 2017, the Crisis Tracker has provided over 1,600 rapid alerts and 35 trend analysis reports to local communities, protection actors, and humanitarian organisations working in remote and insecure areas of eastern CAR, north-eastern DRC, and South Sudan.
“The impact of armed conflict on vulnerable civilians often gets lost without relevant and timely data,” said Maya Moseley, Crisis Tracker analyst at Invisible Children. “The Crisis Tracker allows us not only to inform policy and increase public awareness, but also to protect civilians from further harm. We are honoured to win the .ORG Impact Award and we look forward to continuing our mission of protecting the most isolated communities of central Africa.”
“Congratulations to The Crisis Tracker for being named the 2020 .ORG Impact Award winner in the Innovation category,” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of the Public Interest Registry. “This project breaks the mould and reimagines solutions to regional insecurity and armed group violence in an impactful way and we celebrate their outstanding and important contributions.”
On Monday the Advancing Environmental Sustainability was won by the Mangrove Action Project for its work protecting the world’s mangrove forests.
Mangrove Action Project (MAP) was founded in 1992 as a global network, education and advocacy non-profit whose mission is to partner with mangrove forest communities, grassroots NGOs, researchers and local governments to conserve and restore mangrove forests and related coastal ecosystems, while promoting community-based, sustainable management of coastal resources. MAP’s proactive, five-pronged approach to long-term mangrove conservation and environmental justice involves collaboration, advocacy, education, sustainable community-based development, conservation and restoration.
“Mangrove forests are one of the world’s most important ecosystems and one of its most threatened,” said Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project. “From providing vital marine spawning grounds to mitigating climate change, maintaining biodiversity and providing livelihoods to hundreds of millions around the world, mangroves are a vital resource for both local and global communities. We are honoured to win the .ORG Impact Award and we look forward to continuing our mission of protecting the world’s mangrove forests.”
“Congratulations to the Mangrove Action Project for being named the 2020 .ORG Impact Award winner in the Advancing Environmental Sustainability category,” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of the Public Interest Registry. “Their work is a critical part of protecting the world’s coastal ecosystems and we celebrate and support their inspiring contributions.”
Tuesday’s award was for Fighting Hunger and Poverty and was won by Food For Free, a mission-driven organisation working to improving access to healthy food within the Boston community. The organisation rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and creates new distribution channels to under-served populations with an emphasis on utilising school systems to reach those in need.
Through a combination of food rescue and transportation services, Food For Free gives food programmes year-round access to fresh fruits and vegetables, while its direct service programmes bring food to students, seniors and others most at risk of hunger. Their programmes address short-term hunger and the long-term health effects of food insecurity and poor nutrition, while reducing food waste.
“Since 1981, Food for Free has been working very hard to connect food with people who need it most,” said Sasha Purpura, Executive Director of Food For Free. “We are honoured to win this award and we urge everyone to do what they can to support their local food banks and help address the scourge of hunger during this holiday season.”
“Congratulations to Food For Free for being named the 2020 .ORG Impact Award winner in the Fighting Hunger and Poverty category,” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of the Public Interest Registry. “Their work connecting communities to food is incredibly important, especially in these challenging times. Food For Free’s work is an inspiration and helps thousands of families avoid hunger and food insecurity in the Boston community.”
Each of the above award winners receive a US$5,000 donation to the charity of their choice. More information on the first four winners of the 2020 .ORG Impact Awards is available here (day 1) and here (day 2 to 4).
| Day One: Combating Coronavirus | Monday, November 30th |
| Day Two: Promoting Education | Tuesday, December 1st |
| Day Three: Outstanding Volunteer | Wednesday, December 2nd |
| Day Four: Championing Equality, Equity and Inclusion | Thursday, December 3rd |
| Day Five: Innovation | Friday, December 4th |
| Day Six: Advancing Environmental Sustainability | Monday, December 7th |
| Day Seven: .ORG Newcomer of the Year | Tuesday, December 8th |
| Day Eight: Fighting Hunger and Poverty | Wednesday, December 9th |
| Day Nine: Promoting a Safer Internet | Thursday, December 10th |