Why Open Case?

We live in times when human rights are still systematically violated, sometimes with the complicity of state authorities themselves. Civil society organizations and NGOs are forced to develop their own ways of documenting and intervening during these violations. Open Case aims to facilitate this work, so that the people doing it can focus on taking action without having to struggle with technology.

The idea for Open Case arose during the search for a better software solution for the daily operations at Watch the Med Alarm Phone, a hotline for people on the move who find themselves in distress while crossing dangerous European borders. Volunteers at Alarm Phone receive these distress calls and, through the use of software, jointly process and document the events associated with each distress. Calls and texts are noted carefully together with footage, e-mails, GPS positions etc., often for multiple cases at the same time. The recorded information plays an essential role in the efforts to organise support in real time, as well as in future reporting, analysis, litigation etc.

On the one hand, the contact with people in distress and the urgency to intervene as soon as possible requires an intuitive and simple operation. On the other hand, the generated data needs to be recorded in a structured way, so that it can be used easily for further work. Open Case aims to provide a solution which fits both of these needs.

Free Software in Solidarity

Open Case is self-hostable free software, made with the needs and challenges of hands-on solidarity work in mind. We strongly encourage other groups and organizations that offer support in cases of human rights violations to try Open Case and contact us.