The Red Cross and Red Crescent have released a GPS app in Italy on World Refugee Day for smartphones that will enable migrants and refugees to get oriented in their host countries. It will also help them find information on the services available there.
Although the app has already been used in Greece and Sweden - where it has had 30,000 visitors and 240,000 pages visualized in 8 months - the app will be active in Italy starting on Tuesday, on World Refugee Day. Through geolocation, the app will enable refugees, asylum seekers and those not included in the migrant reception network in Italy to find services made available to them by the Italian Red Cross (CRI) and other associations near them: clinics, family planning facilities, soup kitchens, dorms and places that provide free legal assistance and psychological support. Migrants will also find the three functioning CRI Safe Points on the map: ones in Catania and Trapani and one in Cagliari, which will open on Tuesday.
Information on family members
The app will also provide detailed information on the Restoring Family Links service to find family members. ''The use of new technology is fundamental also for humanitarian activities. This is why we decided to launch Virtual Volunteer in Italy as well,'' CRI chief Francesco Rocca said. '' It is a new service to help the most vulnerable, who will thus be able to find out where to get help immediately.This is how we are celebrating World Refugee Day, by meeting the needs of migrants.'' .