UN peacekeeping missions deployed to conflict zones need up-to-the-minute information to protect civilians, monitor conflicts and build peace. Global Pulse’s offices in Kampala and New York used a pioneering radio mining tool to support peacebuilding efforts in Mali, particularly the UN peacekeeping force there called MINUSMA. This tool uses Big Data, an automated speech recognition tool and natural language processing to monitor what’s being said on public radio stations.

Our impact

The radio tool provided remote, effective and secure monitoring of the threats that peacekeepers, as well as their international and national staff, could face in their peacebuilding activities across Mali. It provided insight into local sentiments and the political terrain. The tool allowed the peacekeepers’ New York headquarters to monitor radio broadcasts in Mali almost in real time, providing the edge for quick action that could save lives.

Our lessons

• Radio Data offers complete insights that can foster solutions to the many challenges facing the planet.
• It offers local information on sentiments fueling conflicts that are particularly helpful for humanitarians and peacekeepers, and can contribute to lasting peace.
• We need to promote the use of radio mining and other social listening tools across all programmes.