Infodames verlichten het leven in Bangladesh

22 mei 2010

In Nederland spreken we graag over het ‘opzoeken van de gebruiker’ en hoewel we dat in sommige gevallen ook wel doen (in analoge gevallen dan toch) denk ik dat we nog wel een voorbeeld kunnen nemen aan de ‘Infoladies’ in Bangladesh. Ik las zojuist een inspirerend verhaal over dit ‘leger van mobiele informatiedames’:

Ask me about the pest that’s infecting your crop, common skin diseases, how to seek help if your husband beats you or even how to stop having children, and I may have a solution,” says a confident Akhter.

“An InfoLady’s netbook is loaded with content especially compiled and translated in local Bangla language,” says Mohammed Forhad Uddin of D.Net, a not-for-profit research organisation that is pioneering access to livelihood information. “It provides answers and solutions to some of the most common problems faced by people in villages.”

In Bangladesh this means nearly three-quarters of the nearly 160 million that live in rural areas. From agriculture to health, sanitation and disaster management, the content follows simple text, pictures and engaging multimedia animations to include all users, many of whom are illiterate.

Nieuw is dit verhaal niet (The Guardian schreef er al over in november 2009, The Daily Star in augustus van dat jaar), mooi is het wel.

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