:Author: Henry Addo
:Version: osgeo-live4.0
:License: Creative Commons

.. _ushahidi-overview:

.. image:: images/project_logos/logo-ushahidi.png
  :scale: 80 %
  :alt: project logo
  :align: right
  :target: http://www.ushahidi.com


Ushahidi
========

Incident Timeline & Mapping
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The `Ushahidi <http://www.ushahidi.com/>`_ Engine is a free and open source
platform that allows anyone to gather distributed data via SMS, email or 
web and visualize it on a map or timeline. Our goal is to create tools for 
democratizing information, increasing transparency and lowering the barriers 
for individuals to share their stories.

.. image:: images/screenshots/1024x768/ushahidi-drc-screenshot.png
  :scale: 50 %
  :alt: screenshot
  :align: right

Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, was initially developed to
map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the
beginning of 2008. Ushahidi's roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan
citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The website was used to map
incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout the country based on
reports submitted via the web and mobile phone. This initial deployment of
Ushahidi had 45,000 users in Kenya, and was the catalyst for us realizing
there was a need for a platform based on it, which could be use by others
around the world.


Core Features
-------------
* Interactive map.
* Timeline.
* Ability to subscribe to report alerts based on proximity.
* CSS based theming.
* 5 minute web installer.
* Ability to upload and download mass reports.
* Ability to layer KML/KMZ files on the map.
* Supports custom pages and tabs.
* Site statitics and analytics

Demo
----

* `Ushahidi Demo instance <http://demo.ushahidi.com/>`_

Details
-------

**Website:** http://www.ushahidi.com

**Licence:** GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3

**Software Version:** 1.1.0

**API Interfaces:** PHP

**Supported Platforms:** Linux, Mac, Windows

**Support:** http://forums.ushahidi.com


Quickstart
----------

* `Quickstart documentation <../quickstart/ushahidi_quickstart.html>`_