La Repubblica, a leading Italian newspaper, published very nice article about our project named "L’MP3 non è morto, in Africa serve a salvare milioni di vite" which translated into: "MP3 is not dead, in Africa it serves to save millions of lives".
Here is a translation of this piece:
While the world says goodbye to the now obsolete MP3 format, this technology, powered by solar energy, is used in Tanzania for an educational project aimed at women who cannot read. The idea was created by Uridu, a German non-profit social enterprise and by the African country's Ministry of Health and Welfare. An Mp3 player is used to provide health education to illiterate women living in rural settings. Called MP3forLife Player, the device contains more than 400 answers to questions about health, nutrition, family planning, child care, occupational safety and other topics. A potential lifesaver for millions of people.
Promote exchange and support rural communities. "We have conceived Mp3forLife Player for listening to small groups, it promotes discussion, exchange and creation of the groups", Felicitas Heyne, psychologist and founder of Uridu, told African.com. Considering the different topics covered and the wealth of information available, with Mp3forLife you can get the most varied information converted into audio. From Uridu they say that "all texts are translated with the help of more than 10,000 volunteers from over 100 countries. Once the information has been translated, they are registered by an interpreter of the target language". They are also available on the website in Arabic, Indonesian, English, Spanish, French, Swahili, Filipino and Vietnamese. Rural women in more than 100 countries around the world can therefore rely on the information provided.
Basic knowledge provided free of charge. ForLife Mp3 players are distributed in Tanzania free of charge to women who need them with the help of NGOs. "We want to provide basic knowledge to women who live outside urban contexts and are illiterate, but we also want to create a team spirit, they are fundamental for the positive change of the country, because if women have the necessary knowledge, a spiral is activated favorable for the whole community. If health and education improve, populations stabilize and economies grow, "said Heyne. Ensuring knowledge, especially for those who do not have the tools, is an important step on the road to development.