AWS Public Sector Blog

Category: Nonprofit

Join public sector peers and accelerate your mission at the AWS Summit Washington, DC

The AWS Summit Washington, DC is back, May 23-25 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center. With a focus on public sector customers and innovation, the AWS Summit Washington, DC is a three-day event with more than 300 breakout sessions, chalk talks, customer lightning talks, builders’ sessions, and more, to help you learn how to accelerate innovation and deliver on your mission. Learn how to digitally transform to meet your organization’s dynamic needs, using the cloud. Register today for the no-cost event and read on for more about this year’s event.

Accelerating digital transformation in Latin America’s public sector

In the past two years, many of us in Latin America have seen civil society, governments, academia, and the private sector unite to accelerate our ability to respond to the economic and human challenges of COVID-19. Public sector organizations innovated with the cloud to address a variety of dynamic needs: expanding financial inclusion, supporting wider access to education and healthcare, providing transparency in electoral processes, and more. In this blog post, we spotlight four organizations in Latin America that are using AWS to transform the public sector.

Create a common operating picture for search and rescue at the edge with AWS

In a recent disaster response field testing exercise (FTX), the AWS Global Social Impact Solutions (GSI) team developed a prototype cloud architecture and tested it in a search and rescue (SAR) scenario simulating a missing responder crisis. This blog post walks through the SAR simulation and result, and provides an overview of the AWS services and technical architecture components the GSI team used to provide a hybrid edge/cloud COP solution that helped locate the missing team member in the simulated scenario within 20 minutes.

Using AWS to help students find an affordable college

Moneythink is an education technology nonprofit providing big solutions to help with college affordability, accessibility, and student loan debt. We built DecidED, a web app that runs on AWS and provides students across the country with guidance and support to understand financial aid options and budgeting for college costs. Our work gives students the cost transparency necessary to make clear decisions about their futures, and is especially beneficial for historically marginalized students, as they often lack resources due to institutionally imposed barriers.

Climate Next: How sustainability champions around the world use cloud-powered tech to fight climate change

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in our planet.” In celebration of this year’s theme, we want to highlight the important sustainability work featured in the AWS documentary series, Climate Next, which explores the ways organizations and communities in four distinct regions are investing in cloud-powered solutions to fight climate change.

Transforming animal conservation with open data and more on AWS

Open data is helping researchers and nonprofit conservationists protect vulnerable species around the world. In celebration of Earth Day, we are shining a spotlight on two sustainability stories from the AWS Fix This podcast from AWS, a podcast exploring the ways people use technology to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Supporting those affected by sight loss with Alexa and AWS

At The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (Guide Dogs), we provide a variety of services and support to anyone affected by sight loss, their friends, and their family. Our mission is to give them access to information and support to make a positive impact on their well-being, self-confidence, self-esteem and ability to function with loss of sight. Voice assistants powered by AWS allow our organization to support our communities and enrich their quality of life.

What you missed at the AWS Summit Brussels keynote

On March 31, the AWS Summit Brussels returned to the Egg in Brussels, Belgium, where Max Peterson, vice president of AWS worldwide public sector, and Isabella Groeger-Cechowicz, vice president of AWS worldwide public sector of EMEA sales, took the stage for the event’s keynote. They discussed how AWS is supporting customers with a dedication to data privacy and protection, sustainability, and social impact. Three customer speakers joined them onstage to share stories about how they use the cloud to drive impact for their missions. Read on for what you might have missed at the AWS Summit Brussels.

What you missed at the AWS IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference

The IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference in Washington, DC brought together leaders, technologists, and mission-driven innovators in the nonprofit sector to learn, connect, and inspire. Over the course of the conference, attendees explored the ways technology helps nonprofits make a positive impact around the world. At the keynote, Dave Levy, vice president of US government, nonprofits, and healthcare at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Allyson Fryhoff, managing director of nonprofits at AWS, highlighted how nonprofits are on the front lines of addressing some of society’s greatest needs, and how harnessing the power of data can be a force multiplier for change.

AWS announces Local Zones in Latin America

AWS plans to launch new AWS Local Zones across Latin America to contribute to the region’s economic diversification. The new locations include Bogotá, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Queretaro, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile. AWS is helping to develop more resilient economies that promote long-term economic growth. The low-latency offered by Local Zones can make new use cases possible for public sector organizations.