[open-development] ReliefWeb API

[Tim Davies]

>From the Development Seed blog / ReliefWeb:
http://developmentseed.org/blog/2014/04/10/reliefweb-api-launch/ /
http://reliefweb.int/blogpost/transforming-humanitarian-data-knowledge-introducing-reliefweb-api

A new API of humanitarian data.


ReliefWeb Opens 20 Years of Humanitarian Data
By Nate Smith <http://developmentseed.org/team/nate-smith> on Apr 10 2014

Today, ReliefWeb released a public REST
API<http://reliefweb.int/blogpost/transforming-humanitarian-data-knowledge-introducing-reliefweb-api>
that
provides access to over 545,000 reports, maps, and job listings relating to
humanitarian crises and response. This data, previously only available on
the ReliefWeb.int <http://www.reliefweb.int/> website, is now open for easy
use in other websites, apps, and research projects.

ReliefWeb <http://reliefweb.int/> is the go-to source for humanitarian
information within the United Nations. We worked with ReliefWeb and the
team at Phase2 <http://www.phase2technology.com/> on the API that will make
decades of humanitarian data open in machine-readable formats.
Data when it matters

In a crisis, speed and accessibility of information are critical. The
ReliefWeb API allows responders, journalists, and policymakers to access
vetted, authoritative data when they need it, in a standard format (JSON).
It's built on an Elasticsearch <http://www.elasticsearch.org/> datastore
and has put a focus on speed. Providing open, fast, and programmatic access
to humanitarian content can lead to better understanding of crises and can
drive innovation.

Open data will allow the development of tools that make official reports on
disaster response more useful. The API already powers ReliefWeb's mobile
app and it will make it easier to combine official data with data from
other sources.
What's to come

As we blogged last
week<http://developmentseed.org/blog/2014/03/31/twitter-server/>,
we are building an application that utilizes the ReliefWeb API to combine
official disaster reports with other data sources. A simple Twitter server
provides filtered disaster-related tweets in combination with ReliefWeb
reports and data.

We're excited to launch with ReliefWeb and Phase2 today. To get started
building on this data, explore the developer
docs<http://reliefweb.int/help/api/intro> and
check out Phase2's post on the API application
details<http://www.phase2technology.com/blog/transforming-data-into-knowledge-introducing-reliefwebs-humanitarian-api/>.
For an example of the new API in action, look for a public repo with live
tracking the ebola epidemic in Guinea.

-- 


w: http://www.timdavies.org.uk | m: 07834 856 303 | twitter: timdavies

Co-director of Practical Participation:
http://www.practicalparticipation.co.uk
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