Mobile Phone-Based Citizen News Service Launched in Northeast India
31st July, 2013 : New Delhi
A groundbreaking new mobile phone-based citizen news service has been launched in Northeast India. The Seven Sisters Project is the first service of its kind, providing residents of the Northeast with a new opportunity to record stories that matter to them and their communities.
"India has a population of over a billion people. Most of these people haven't had the right tools to tell their stories, share their ideas, express themselves about problems they are facing and address issues in their communities. Our platform now gives them the means to do this," said Shibayan Raha, Founder of the Seven Sisters Project.
India has over 900 million mobile connections, a medium for communications easily accessible to the majority of Indians. The Seven Sisters Project enables citizens and citizen journalists in the Northeast to use this medium to tell their stories to the world via a deep integration of mobile phone, Facebook and the Seven Sisters Project website. The technology combines an Interactive Voice Response phone system with a Facebook application to create a mobile reporting network for Northeast India, with the aim of spreading news through Facebook to users in different parts of the country.
The Seven Sisters Project uses open-source voice portal technology that enables citizens to report and discuss issues of local interest. To use the portal, individuals call a phone number using any mobile or fixed line phone. Callers are prompted to press "1" to listen to stories recorded by others, "2" to comment on stories, and "3" to record a story. Once a message has been recorded from the field, a team of professional, trained moderators access the system using a Web-based interface, review and verify each report. Approved reports are then made available for playback over the phone and can be accessed on the Seven Sisters Project Facebook page, website and on Twitter.
The innovative Seven Sisters Project is made possible by the support of Access Now, as part of their Tech Innovation Awards in the Facebook Category in 2012.
Website: www.sevensistersproject.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sevensistersproject
Twitter: @7sistersprojekt
This info was sent by Seven Sisters Project who can be contacted at info(at)sevensistersproject(dot)org
This Press Release was posted on July 31, 2013.
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