Martus News http://www.martus.org News and Updates from Martus, a Benetech Initiative Feeder 2.1.2(1338); Mac OS X Version 10.6.4 (Build 10F569) http://reinventedsoftware.com/feeder/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en Copyright © 2002-2010 The Benetech Initiative. Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:21:06 -0700 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:21:06 -0700 Martus Client 3.4.1 Released (August 2010) https://tornado.he.net/cgi-bin/suid/~martus/download.cgi This release includes the ability to set a flexible Martus time-out length which can help improve the performance of long operations (such as retrieval of bulletins from the server) and addressed an issue with very large customizations that would cause Martus to load very slowly. The full release notes and download of the new version are available here here.

Martus 3.4.1 is available in English, Spanish, and Burmese, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they become available.

]]> Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:21:06 -0700 martus-client-341-released-august-2010 African Open Source Mag Features Martus http://www.tectonic.co.za/2006/02/ Tectonic, Africa's first open source magazine, features Martus and Martus users in Kenya in the following article. Free software working for human rights.

]]> Mon, 13 Feb 2006 12:00:42 -0800 african-open-source-mag-features-martus State Department Funds Martus http://www.benetech.org/resources/press_releases/PR_State-Martus-final.shtml The United States Department of State has provided funding to support the introduction of the Martus Social Justice Monitoring technologies to NGOs in Africa. Click here to read the press release.

]]> Thu, 03 Jun 2004 12:00:02 -0700 state-department-funds-martus Martus Makes Technology Headlines http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/8803304.htm?1c Read the article here (may require free registration).]]> Mon, 31 May 2004 13:57:28 -0700 martus-makes-technology-headlines-1 Martus Coverage in Bangkok Post http://www.benetech.org/about/articles/martus_bangkok.shtml Thai newspaper the Bangkok Post recently published an article announcing the introduction of Martus to Thai NGOs. The article is available online here.

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2004 12:00:32 -0700 martus-coverage-in-bangkok-post Patrick Ball Receives 2005 EFF’s Pioneer Award http://www.benetech.org/resources/press_releases/PR_PBall-EFF-Award-041805.shtml

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) presented Dr. Patrick Ball with a Pioneer Award at their 14th Annual Pioneer Awards presentation on April 13, 2005. Read the press release

]]> Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:00:23 -0700 patrick-ball-receives-2005-effrsquos-pioneer-awa Martus Case Study in Africa http://www.opensourceafrica.org/view_article.php?type=case_study&id=18 OpenSourceAfrica has written a case-study about Martus use by the Kisima Peace & Development Organisation, a human rights group in Somalia. Read the case study here.

]]> Wed, 15 Dec 2004 12:00:08 -0800 martus-case-study-in-africa Martus helps Colombian human rights organization protect and recover information after attack http://www.benetech.org/resources/blog_archives/beneblog_archive_09-25-05_equitas.shtml EQUITAS, the Colombian Interdisciplinary Team for Forensic Work and Psychosocial Services, documents and raises awareness about disappearances in the context of their country's ongoing internal conflicts. They recently shared their experience using Martus to secure and recover sensitive documents following the theft of a staff member's laptop. Benetech President, Jim Fruchterman highlights their story on the Beneblog.

Click here to read the Beneblog.

]]> Sun, 25 Sep 2005 12:00:19 -0700 martus-helps-colombian-human-rights-organization-p New Tactics in Human Rights highlights Martus http://www.newtactics.org/BenetechInterview New Tactics in Human Rights features Benetech's Human Rights Program in the following interview. Benetech interview

]]> Wed, 01 Mar 2006 12:00:31 -0800 new-tactics-in-human-rights-highlights-martus Articles highlight the Martus project in the Philippines http://www.martus.org


Recent articles in the Philippines media discuss Martus usage:

]]> Sat, 15 Jul 2006 12:00:28 -0700 articles-highlight-the-martus-project-in-the-phili Martus Makes Technology Headlines http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/8803304.htm?1c The May 31, 2004 issue of the San Jose Mercury News features a major article on the Martus Global Social Justice Monitoring System in its Technology section. Read the article here (may require free registration).

]]> Mon, 31 May 2004 12:00:22 -0700 martus-makes-technology-headlines Human Rights Data Analysis Group Joins Benetech http://www.benetech.org/about/press_releases/PR_2003-11-03_HRDAG.shtml The world's leading human rights statistical analysts have joined Benetech. Dr. Patrick Ball and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group previously collaborated with Benetech on Martus, and the merger of HRDAG's data-centric field experience with Benetech's software development expertise is expected to strengthen Benetech's efforts in the human rights and social justice sectors. Read the press release here.

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2003 12:00:15 -0800 human-rights-data-analysis-group-joins-benetech Martus In Africa http://www.martus.org/resources/osisa-martus-article.pdf Palo Alto, CA — The Digest of the Open Society Initiative for South Africa has posted an extensive story about Martus use in Southern Africa. The story, Information Communications Technology For Human Rights in Southern Africa, points to a recent survey that assessed the use of Martus in Southern Africa by human rights organizations, particularly women's NGOs.

]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2006 11:00:19 -0800 martus-in-africa Benetech Reaps Benefits From Free Software http://business.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/09/29/1827208&tid=39&tid=150&tid=132 Palo Alto, CA — Patrick Ball, Benetech CTO and Human Rights Program Director, was interviewed by NewsForge about Benetech's use of free software. The story, High-tech Social Enterprise Reaps Free Software's Benefits notes Benetech's use of Ubuntu and other well-designed free software tools. NewsForge is the online newspaper for the Linux and Open Source community.

]]> Fri, 06 Oct 2006 11:00:15 -0700 benetech-reaps-benefits-from-free-software Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman Receives 2006 MacArthur Fellowship http://www.benetech.org/about/press_releases/PR_2006-09-18_MacArthur.shtml Palo Alto, CA — Jim Fruchterman, CEO of The Benetech Initiative, has been awarded a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each of this year’s 25 MacArthur Fellows learned this week that they will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” funding over the next five years.  Read press release here.

]]> Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:00:14 -0700 benetech-ceo-jim-fruchterman-receives-2006-macarth MacArthur Award Attracts Press http://www.benetech.org/about/press_releases/PR_2006-09-18_MacArthur.shtml Palo Alto, CA — Since Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship last month, both he and Benetech have been the focus of increasing media coverage. Profiles of Jim have appeared in the San Jose Mercury News which published a news story, a column and a business section feature story which describes Martus. Forbes also wrote about Jim noting that he is "one of a handful of people at the forefront of starting not-for-profit technology companies."

]]> Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:00:03 -0700 macarthur-award-attracts-press Article Highlights Martus Project in Guatemala http://www.itworld.com/App/236/070207diggingfortruth/ The IDG News Service interviewed Jorge Villagrán of the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman Office, which is using Martus to manage and encrypt information from the Guatemalan National Police Archives. The Archives contain an estimated 80 million pages of official documents detailing the activities of the National Police during Guatemala’s 36-year internal conflict. The story, Digging for the Truth, discusses the historical significance of their work and the ways the Ombudsman Office is employing Martus technology to secure the information in the Archives for future analysis and dissemination.

]]> Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:00:14 -0800 article-highlights-martus-project-in-guatemala Article features Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s project http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/04/MNG42OF4IN1.DTL&type=politics The San Francisco Chronicle featured the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s efforts to preserve the data found in the National Police Archives using Martus in the following article. The Ombudsman's Office is using Martus to securely manage the data they are collecting for future analysis. The article, Guatemala struggles to find war crimes justice, discusses the relevance of the Ombudsman’s project to combating the impunity of the perpetrators and achieving justice for victims’ families.

]]> Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:00:47 -0800 article-features-guatemalan-human-rights-ombudsman Article on open source technology in the fight for human rights features Martus and Analyzer</h3> <h3>Article on open source technology in the fight for human rights features Martus and Analyzer http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?from=rss_IOLTechHome&amp;iSe%0ActionId=2883&amp;iArticleId=3742131 Independent Online Technology, a South African webzine, features Benetech technologies Martus and Analyzer in its article, Open Source used in fight for human rights.

]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:00:08 -0700 article-on-open-source-technology-in-the-fight-for Smithsonian Magazine Covers Martus Project in Guatemala http://www.hrdag.org/about/guatemala-police_arch_project.shtml Palo Alto, CA &mdash The October issue of the Smithsonian magazine features a detailed story about the ongoing use of Martus at the Guatemalan National Police Archive.

The article recounts how Benetech's Human Rights Program is collecting a random scientific sample of the estimated 80 million archive documents and entering the information into Benetech's secure Martus database. The collected data contains critical information about the involvement of the National Police in the killing and disappearance of an estimated 200,000 people during Guatemala's 36 years of internal conflict. Dr. Patrick Ball, director of Benetech's Human Rights Program, notes in the article that the archive presented a unique challenge that was "longer-term, more scientifically complex and more politically sensitive" than any of Benetech's previous projects.

]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:00:50 -0700 smithsonian-magazine-covers-martus-project-in-guat Martus Training for NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo http://www.ictj.org/en/index.html Palo Alto, CA — Vijaya Tripathi, Martus Outreach Coordinator, has just completed a Martus training for staff members of human rights NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. During her visit, Tripathi also had an opportunity to meet the staff of the United Nations Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). Benetech's Martus project was invited to conduct these trainings by the International Center for Transitional Justice which assists countries pursuing accountability for mass atrocities or human rights abuses.

"I was honored to work with these Congolese activists, several of whom have been on the frontline of human rights monitoring and advocacy in the DRC for many years," said Tripathi. "The trainings offered an important opportunity to bring Martus to the exact groups we built the tool for — human rights defenders who are collecting sensitive documentation and need help securing and backing up that information quickly and effectively."

]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:00:47 -0700 martus-training-for-ngos-in-the-democratic-republi Human Rights Trainings in Nigeria http://www.martus.org/resources/blog_nigeria.shtml As outreach coordinator for Martus, Benetech’s secure software application, I travel to many countries where human rights defenders need tools to gather, organize and back up information about human rights violations. Over the past few years, I have seen human rights groups become much more sophisticated about how they use technology to document human rights abuses. Read more of the blog here.

]]> Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:44 -0800 human-rights-trainings-in-nigeria Vijaya Tripathi Martus Client 3.4 Released! https://tornado.he.net/cgi-bin/suid/%7Emartus/download.cgi This release includes the ability to search for a particular row in a bulletin grid, several data validation features (e.g. requiring data entry in certain grid columns before a bulletin can be saved, specifying valid date ranges for fields such as event date or date of birth), and tracking the extended history of a bulletin across users. The full release notes and download of the new version are available here.

Martus 3.4 is available in English, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they become available.

]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:34 -0800 martus-client-34-released Aspiration funds NPower Seattle and Benetech collaboration http://www.martus.org NPower Seattle worked with Benetech to develop user guides for Martus™ software. Early versions of the guides have assisted in the beta tests and have received outstanding reviews.

]]> Sun, 15 Jun 2003 00:00:23 -0700 aspiration-funds-npower-seattle-and-benetech-colla NPower Seattle hosts Martus Server http://www.martus.org In June 2002, NPower Seattle began hosting a Martus Server. This server was key for the implementation of Martus beta tests. NGOs from three continents are using the NPower Seattle Martus Server to provide secure back up of human rights documentation.

]]> Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:00:05 -0700 npower-seattle-hosts-martus-server Martus gets press attention http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/14/BU237662.DTL

San Francisco, CA: Placing people before profit: Palo Alto's Benetech sets out to help human rights organizations save lives

Can technology save people from brutality? Benetech says yes: the Martus Human Rights Bulletin System. Read the San Francisco Chronicle article here.

]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2003 00:00:01 -0700 martus-gets-press-attention Martus being used around the world http://www.martus.org Martus™ software is used by human rights organizations around the world. These groups focus on issues including political rights, women's rights and the environment in countries including Guatemala, Russia and Sri Lanka. Martus has been translated into Spanish and Russian, and Martus can be customized for almost all languages.

]]> Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:02 -0800 martus-being-used-around-the-world Martus software launched! http://www.benetech.org Palo Alto, CA: The Benetech Initiative, a Silicon Valley nonprofit, today announced the release of The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System, an open source technology tool designed to assist human rights organizations in collecting, safeguarding, organizing and disseminating information about human rights abuses. Read the press release.

]]> Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:30 -0800 martus-software-launched