CrisisReady recently concluded its national workshop on Novel Data and AI for Disaster Resilience at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, capped by a full-day, data-driven simulation exercise that brought together leaders from across Mexico’s disaster management, research, and nonprofit response communities.
Rhiannan Price opened the session remotely, sharing lessons from the NASA Lifelines virtual humanitarian simulation held in 2024. Participants carried those lessons forward, stepping into roles spanning health, coordination, technology, local government, shelter, and other critical sectors. Throughout the exercise, teams drew on datasets covering human mobility, community vulnerability, building damage, and storm impacts to build cases for action, counter misinformation, and plan for a strong and equitable recovery.
A recurring theme echoed throughout the day: data and technology deliver social benefit only when rooted in community and collaboration. Artificial intelligence can accelerate work, surface new insights, and extend capabilities to more people—but it is ultimately the wisdom, experience, and engagement of people that make the work meaningful.
The workshop convened an exceptional cross-section of partners, including technology collaborators Google, Meta, Esri, and Mapillary; universities from Guerrero, Veracruz, Mexico City, and beyond; the Mexico Red Cross; ENAPROC CENAPRED; Civil Protection; and numerous other agencies within Mexico’s public emergency management system.
CrisisReady extends its gratitude to everyone who participated and looks forward to another year of collaboration. This work is conducted in partnership with Direct Relief and the Harvard Data Science Initiative.
