Einstein Rocuts is not the typical IT Emergency Responder. He does not have a fly-away kit sitting next to his desk or a bag permanently packed at home for speedy deployment. However, as IT Officer for the Office for the High Commission of Human Rights (OHCHR) in Colombia, Einstein and his team are committed members of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster.

“Whilst our mandate is slightly different to other agencies, we realise the importance of being part of the cluster in an active way,” says Einstein. “The cluster in Colombia is working hard to coordinate all the efforts of different agencies.”

“OHCHR has six offices across Colombia and excellent infrastructure. Through the cluster we are putting together all our services, staff capacity and knowledge and working together with other agencies to prepare for emergencies.”

Part of the ICT and Knowledge Management unit of OHCHR, Einstein’s team is focused on providing technical services to their Colombian operations. “We have to maintain the IT and telecommunications infrastructure as well as manage security of the information. Our team is also responsible for generating policies for information management.”

“We realise the importance of information systems, not just as a technical necessity, but also to facilitate and encourage decision making. We are actively changing our perspective.”

Einstein attended the IT Emergency Management Field Training held in Colombia earlier this year. Funded by the Vodafone Foundation, United Nations Foundation and World Food Programme (WFP) partnership, the training covers Inter-Agency response mechanisms to humanitarian emergencies. “The training helped to make things happen here and improve our processes.”

“One of our main projects at the moment is developing a comprehensive business continuity plan and matching it according to our current infrastructure and also with the work of the cluster.”

“Good coordination is essential. By being part of the cluster, we can contribute more to helping our country in an emergency situation.”