Article Highlights Martus Project in Guatemala
February 7, 2007 — 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.
MacArthur Award Attracts Press
October 16, 2006, 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."
Benetech Reaps Benefits From Free Software
October 6, 2006, 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.
September 18, 2006, 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.
Martus Client 3.0 Released!
The Martus Client 3.0 release includes a new reporting feature and gives users more options for customization. The 3.0 release also provides enhanced speed, import and search features. The full release notes and download of the new release are available for download here. Martus 3.0 is available in English and Spanish, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they
become available.
Martus In Africa
February, 2006, 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.
Articles highlight the Martus project in the Philippines
Recent articles in the Philippines media discuss Martus usage:
New Tactics in Human Rights highlights Martus
New Tactics in Human Rights
features Benetech's Human Rights Program in the following interview.
Benetech interview
Article features Martus
Tectonic, Africa's first open source magazine,
features Martus and Martus users in Kenya in the following article.
Free software working for human rights
Martus helps Colombian human rights organization protect and recover information
after attack
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.
OneWorld.net Highlights Martus
OneWorld, an online media gateway for informing a global audience about human rights
and sustainable development, has highlighted Martus in the following article:
Martus - Technology for Human Rights.
Martus Introduced at WITT Conference in Amsterdam
International human rights lawyer Susan Bazilli informs the Women’s Information
Technology Transfer (WITT), a "Regional Initiative of Women's Groups for Promoting
Information Communication Technology as a Strategic Tool for Social Transformation",
about Martus, Benetech's open source software tool used for monitoring human rights
violations. Read more here.
Martus Case Study in Africa
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.
New Martus FAQs available
The Martus Frequently-Asked-Questions have been
updated with entries about how to use data gathered in Martus. Go to
Using Martus Data.
Patrick
Ball Receives 2005 EFF’s Pioneer Award
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
Martus Client 2.9 Released!
This release includes speed enhancements, improved searching, and Thai and Persian date localization enhancements. Read full release notes and Download here. Martus 2.9 is available in English, Spanish, and Arabic, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they
become available.
Martus Client 2.8 Released!
This release includes advanced searching, printing, security, and grid customization
enhancements. Download here. Martus 2.8 is
available in English, Spanish, and Arabic, with "Language Packs" for other languages
placed on the documentation page as they
become available.
Martus Client 2.7 Released!
This release includes Headquarters and customization enhancements.
Download here. Martus 2.7 is available in English and Persian, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they become available.
Martus Client 2.6 and Server 2.3 Released!
Martus is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French, and Thai. This release includes search enhancements and the ability to view previously saved versions of bulletins. Download here.
Martus Search Engine Released!
The Martus Search Engine, hosted by the Open Society Archives, is available at https://martus.ceu.hu, and displays public information from bulletins backed up to several Martus servers.
Martus Coverage in Bangkok Post
Thai newspaper the Bangkok Post recently published an article announcing the introduction of Martus to Thai NGOs. The article is available online here.
State Department Funds Martus
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.
Martus Makes Technology Headlines
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).
Martus Client 2.5 Released!
Martus is now available in English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French, and Thai. This release
also includes speed enhancements and the ability to make changes or additions to previously
sealed bulletins.
Martus Client version 2.0 and Server 2.1 available!
This new release of Martus includes enhanced Custom Field and Headquarters functionality, and
displays additional information about bulletins.
Martus Client version 2.0.1 released!
This version includes further Custom Field enhancements, a new French translation, and
updates to Spanish/Russian/English documentation.
GeoWorld on Martus and GIS
GeoWorld magazine looks at how the combination of Geographical Information System technology and the Martus Human Rights Bulletin System can fight human rights abuses. Read the article here.
Martus Client version 1.5 available!
With this new release, Martus is available in English/Spanish/Russian, and can have multiple
accounts setup on a computer.
Martus Server Software version 1.3.2 released!
With Martus Server Software, organizations can host their own Martus servers - providing backup
servers for NGOs looking for a place to safeguard Martus bulletins.
Human Rights Data Analysis Group Joins Benetech
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.
The Asia Foundation awards grant to Benetech.
The Asia Foundation has
selected Martus as its software choice for monitoring human rights
violations throughout the Philippine Islands. Strategic planning began in
Manila in November 2002.
Open Society Archives hosts Martus Server.
The Open Society Archives in
Budapest, Hungary, has recently installed a Martus Server, the first in
Europe. Benetech president, Jim Fruchterman, presented Martus to OSA and
others at Central European University for the occasion.
Aspiration funds NPower Seattle and Benetech collaboration.
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.
NPower Seattle hosts Martus Server.
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.
Martus gets press attention.
San Francisco, CA, April 14, 2003: 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.
Martus being used Around the World.
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.
Martus software launched!
Palo Alto, CA, January 15, 2003: 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.
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