Society

Civic technology helps communities put power into their own hands - quite literally. New open source technologies can provide powerful tools to those looking to set up local renewable energy grids.

The air in our cities is polluted. With sensors, citizens can collect measurements, allowing them to uncover sources and build up political pressure.

Whistleblowing is never easy - and exposing the truth can mean unemployment, imprisonment or worse. GlobaLeaks provides safe and secure tools so whistleblowers can reveal dark commercial or governmental secrets with confidence.

For Geraldine de Bastion, digitisation is a development that we can - and must - actively shape. And also that we should use digitization for more climate protection. We talked to her about civic tech in environmental and climate protection and the challenges of digital engagement.

As international supply chains grow longer, it also becomes harder to identify human rights and environmental abuses. Now, a cloud platform is incentivising transparency by helping companies track their suppliers.

The digital world throws up a host of serious problems for human rights. The Digital Human Rights Lab, is creating an online space to support and strengthen human rights for all.

Digital maps form an essential tool for humanitarian response. A group of mapping volunteers are now working to ensure all crises spots are covered.

Disaster relief often requires a multi-pronged approach covering food, medical services and - importantly - shelter. A New York-based architectural firm now hopes to make the latter easier and more affordable by creating flatpack, origami-inspired emergency shelters.

Passive water harvesting technologies offer clear advantages in terms of power use, but are often limited in output. A new design aims to push them to their limits.