Brussels, Belgium, 19 March 2024 — The International Rescue Committee’s Signpost project has today won the first-ever European Prize for Humanitarian Innovation (InnovAid) - a new award recognising innovative solutions to better assist vulnerable people affected by natural hazards and man-made crises such as conflicts.
The prize was awarded today at the European Humanitarian Forum taking place in Brussels, Belgium.
Andre Heller, IRC’s Signpost Programme Director, says:
“The International Rescue Committee is delighted that the global Signpost project has been awarded the first-ever European Prize for Humanitarian Innovation, recognising its work to support and empower millions of people on the move with timely, accurate, and often live-saving information.
Signpost is a community-led information service - a form of digital social work - designed to empower the IRC’s clients in times of crisis with timely, accurate and often life-saving information. It helps displaced people solve real problems and make life-changing decisions with the provision of clear, concise information which is created on the basis of self-expressed challenges that communities face, as well as maps that show users geolocated, verified information about access to government and private sector services.
It also enables two-way discussions whereby users can speak directly with our frontline personnel who help them understand their options and how to navigate in order to exercise them, such as eligibility for certain forms of programming, where and how to start to troubleshoot cumbersome administrative processes, and where to find legal representation, employment or accommodation.
Signpost is a vital programme to disempower traffickers who thrive on misinformation, save lives along displacement routes, and help asylum-seekers both understand their rights and make informed choices in the midst of crisis.
The Signpost project has now been implemented through context-specific iterations in more than 20 countries - from Italy to Ukraine, and Kenya to Mexico - and is still expanding. It has reached more than 100 million people so far on social media and has approximately 14 million users.
Signpost’s vision is shared by our private sector partners, including Tech for Refugees (Breakthrough Prize Foundation), Cisco, Google.org, Meta, Schmidt Futures, Tripadvisor Foundation, and Zendesk, who helped make this project possible."