The new Web portal, "Our world. Your move." Focuses on the human costs of war, climate change, displacement, disease and hunger. The new site allows users to share their experiences via videos, photos and blog posts.

The site’s launch coincides with the 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino, which led to the creation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Yves Daccord

"The idea of the Red Cross was born 150 years ago when one individual, Henry Dunant, decided to take action to help thousands of soldiers, who were wounded near Solferino in northern Italy. His legacy lives on today in the selfless acts of all those around the world who offer hope in a moment of need or despair," said Yves Daccord, the ICRC’s director of communications.

"Each day, there are countless stories of unsung courage and achievement just waiting to be told. We want the web portal to be a place where someone who is making a difference in one corner of the world can inspire someone on the opposite side of the globe."

The ourworld-yourmove.org site is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. It is the first time the Red Cross has used social media in an effort to connect with a broader global audience.

The Red Cross has also set up a presence on Facebook and MySpace, as well as creating a channel on YouTube for video contributions.

"We’ve made a real effort to capitalize on the tremendous scope of social networking and new media sites in order to reach beyond our typical support base and build a partnership with the public," said Pierre Kremer, the head of communications for the IFRC.

The original site for this type of purpose, was set up just after the hurricane struck. Katrinasafe.org, which offered survivors and families the same type of online tool, was developed in four days by Microsoft database architect Jim Carroll. Microsoft says in the past year, over 340,000 people have logged onto the site to use the tool.

The Red Cross’ Safe and Well List mirrors that effort, also developed with Microsoft’s help, and intends the tool to be the standard for exchanging welfare information in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The partnership hopes it will allow for faster communication during times of crisis.

Guidance for the tool’s development came when the Red Cross met with a technology consortium to address the lessons learned from Katrina. They identified flaws in infrastructure that were the most pressing for future disaster response, and looked to technology companies to help them solve those problems.

The Red Cross identified three key areas for increased technology investments, some of which was made by Microsoft:

“The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was a perfect example of a partnership in action and how the expertise of partners and volunteers can help create the foundation for future improvements in disaster response capabilities,” said Steve Cooper, CIO of the Red Cross.

Microsoft was heavily involved in Katrina relief. Aside from the website development, Microsoft employees helped with logistical communications by increasing the capacity of the Red Cross network by 400 percent and deploying three of Microsoft’s satellite-equipped “Across America” buses to Red Cross relief centers in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The company also pitched in to improve the logistics of medical relief efforts. Microsoft mobility specialist Dawn Gagnon enlisted the help of family and friends to program 180 Microsoft SmartPhones. The provision of the phones to 150 National Guard troops and 30 doctors at the Red Cross triage center in Baton Rouge enabled e-mail, instant message and phone calls for quicker emergency responses.

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