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Timeline
5 Months : Jan 2019 - May 2019
History
People’s Power Collective is an organization which helps disadvantaged communities to strengthen, unify and empower by setting up community radio stations.
They aim to achieve gender equality, reduction in poverty, the establishment of standard education and many other basic needs for such societies.
They supported the community radio station, Mandakini Ki Awaaz (90.8FM) which is doing an exemplary job in solving people’s problems in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand.
Research
There are revolutionary community radio stations which are putting up outstanding work in their respective fields.
Sarathi Jhalak, KarnatakaNammada Mattoli, Kerala
These organizations showcase their impacts through different ways like newsletters, blogs, and other mediums.
This was my motive to create a platform which would give Mandakini Ki Awaaz a voice.
Outline
They took such a huge initiative for thousands of people in the north but it could not create an impact on the Urban people who live in cities.“A survey recorded that approximately 97% of the people were unaware of the community radio.”After research, I shortlisted the intricacies and these are some points I remarked.
- The platform should show the initiatives taken up, and the impacts being made in the community.“Openness = Trust”
- Creating an experience for the user rather than long articles to read and photos to look through.“Interaction improves Engagement”
- Fabricating trust over the benefactors. People trust what they see and everyone wants to know where and what they put their money in.“Proof = Trust”
User Personas
I identified 3 different personas and their needs. This helped me understand the project on a wider view and look at different perspectives.
Inspiration
It inspired me how Indians united during Kerala floods in August 2018, I made this application for people to be always there for others in need, like such communities which cannot reach out to everyone.
“Anyone with a resource is a friend of the one without.”
Challenges
The first challenge for me was to select whether to make a mobile app or a web app.
Facts:
- 36% of Indians use smartphones.
- People use Mobile devices more than Desktops/Laptops as it always on the go.
- Social Media platforms are more productive and available on Mobiles (WhatsApp/Facebook/Snapchat/Instagram etc). which play a major role.
The second challenge was to pick between a mobile app and a game.
The target audience included:
- Teenagers: They would play a major role in spreading a word about an issue or a need.
- Working People/Investors: Majority of them are our benefactors.
“72% of the people would prefer an app over a game based on a survey I conducted.”
So, I chose to make a mobile application.
Solution
Let’s jump right in. I believed that getting openness in this platform will help it reach out to more people and grow substantially.
News Page
Developments, Events and all the recent news items are listed here. This page gives the readers a brief idea of what’s going on in the community. All the news items have a wordy explanation with photos and videos attached for viewing.
Current Issues Page
This page displays all the issues existing in the society. Even issues have a detailed explanation about the problems facing similar to the news items. The issues can be shared to any social media platform.
Resolved Issues Page
All the issues that have been resolved with the help of people are displayed here. Every issue is attached with all the pictures and videos of the developments that were possible because of every contributor.
Other Pages
People can join the community by subscribing and getting information about regular news and issues.
We can also add in any question we have and it’ll be posted in the FAQ page for other’s to view and involve more within the platform.
Remarks
This was my entry for the DU+DI contest which was held last year. I, unfortunately, couldn’t make it to the top 3 but this project gave me a vast idea on the struggling communities which endeavor to help people without having adequate resources.