Community Engagement
for Social Good Projects with Drones
Drones are solving problems everywhere in this day and age. From delivering life saving vaccines in rural settings to large scale agriculture mapping to increase yield for farming. The technology on its own is impressive but at the end of the day, it serves people who in some context, might not be included in any stage of planning, implementation or even be aware of its presence. Even with the best intentions, social good drone projects have a significant risk of not being successful in the long run if the connection between the project and the people is not strong. This connection is a process which is built through numerous community engagements.
Participants in this training will learn everything they need to know about dealing with different types of communities and prioritising certain tasks. They will also learn about effectively using communication tools to raise awareness, learn to overcome common challenges in drone projects as well as reflect on the theme of inclusivity from the perspective of people living with disabilities.
Please see the course syllabus for a detailed overview of the topics and issues that participants will become well versed in. To get the most out of this self-paced course, we recommend that participants dedicate up to 4 hours in total. That said, the course can also be completed within 2.5 hours.
Members of Flying Labs can gain free access through their WeRobotics Community Coordinator.
Your Instructor
Amrita works as the Youth Coordinator & GIS Support at WeRobotics. She is an experienced CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Australia) certified drone pilot and a graduate from the University of the South Pacific with a background in Geospatial Science and Geography. She completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Geoscience from the same university in 2019. In the same year, she was added to the growing list of “Women to Watch in UAS’ in the Humanitarian category for her work with the Red Cross team in Fiji. During her studies, she worked with the UN Women on their Market4Change project as an intern with a prime focus on the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji’s market assets. Since 2016, she has also been actively involved with various NGOs such as the MentorMe Foundation, where she helped youths perform better academically through one-on-one mentoring.
Prior to joining WeRobotics, Amrita worked as the Regional Coordinator for the South Pacific Flying Labs based in Fiji. Here, she worked with various government agencies, non-government agencies and universities leading a wide range of projects. At the South Pacific Flying Labs she also pioneered and conducted several youth programs like the “Fly Like A Girl’ and ‘Aerial Adventure’ programs. She designed these programs to encourage youths in the main island of Fiji to choose science, technology, engineering and mathematics in their schools, universities and eventually their career. In these programs she introduced Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles (ROV) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) coupled with survey gear and photogrammetry software for data collection and processing.
Amrita was born and raised in the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific.