Erin Hayba
Associate Education Officer
Duty Station: Beirut, Lebanon
“I am extremely passionate about working to improve access and quality of education for persons around the world. I value working with others and think that is one of my strong assets. I have been a teacher and also trained as an artist. I often draw on these experiences and knowledge for my current work.”
Erin is an American based in Beirut, Lebanon as an Education Officer. At her previous position in Dadaab, Kenya, she vigorously promoted the use of ICT in education, working alongside a variety of stakeholders to bring computers and solar power into the schools.
Project: UNHCR App for Mobile Devices
Erin is currently working with Diego Batista and Jad Ghosn on this project. This project focuses on the design and implementation of a mobile app that can serve as an innovative communication channel, connecting refugees to UNHCR staff and service providers (NGOs). As refugees (in the context of the Syrian crisis) spend long hours outside UNHCR offices trying to get access to information and services, the mobile app can help to bridge this
gap, by providing updated news and allowing refugees to take a more participative role through the use of crowdsourcing and forums. Designed in a simple-to-use manner, the app is able to deliver the functionality users need, as refugees can update and provide information instantaneously, by the way of crowdsourcing.
The initial purpose of the app is to provide information, report incidents, and reach out to the refugee community- but may be expanded with time. The app would particularly target information relevant to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, but would have the capacity to spread to other countries, according to each situation.