The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China started in January 2019 and put a massive strain on the public health system. As a rapid response, the ironclad lockdown of tens of millions of people in the province of Hubei, and practical house confinement of hundreds of millions of Chinese, have hit pause on everyone’s daily routine.
During this time, new forms of organizational collaboration, from governmental agencies and businesses to media, from NGOs and first-aid groups to alumni networks and self-organized volunteer groups, began emerging. Volunteering has been widely practiced in China, and this time it has seen a boost from new organizational forms. The whole society self-mobilized in a way never seen before, forming social networks of support. Some offer relief and support to the frontline, some facilitate the needs of overlooked groups such as pregnant women, migrant workers, people with chronic diseases in virus-stricken regions, and others focus on keeping daily life running in other parts of China. What follows are observations on some of these social networks across scales and combining agency horizontally and vertically, all with a human touch.
Peer-to-peer networks and hackathons
The Internet and hacker communities were particularly quick to respond with information and network-powered solutions. Wuhan2020 is the largest open source initiative that establishes a real-time data service for hospitals, factories, procurement and donations, linking those in need and those with capacities to help. They also initiated the Hack for Wuhan hackathon that unites developers, designers, builders, and creators all over the world to find tech solutions to this special social condition. The proposed solutions include a platform that focuses on mental health during the lockdown, integrated information systems for tracking the real-time spread of the virus, and – heartwarmingly – a virtual kiosk where stories of receiving or giving spontaneous support in virus-ridden times could be exchanged.
