[Photo Sparks] Creativity for empowerment: how digital media enable social change

In the earlier 30 posts of PhotoSparks, we brought you creative photographs from an art fair, music festival, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, lantern festival, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, Diwali rangoli, ecopreneurs, health activists and eNGOs. In this photo essay, we showcase more of the digital innovators at the Manthan 2014 Awards. Make YourStory’s PhotoSparks your regular source of photographs that celebrate creativity and innovation!

The 11th annual Manthan Conference and Awards for best South Asian Digital Content wrapped up in New Delhi recently (see my articles on the winners of 2014 and 2013). The conference also featured exhibits from over 30 finalists and winners of the awards; this is the second instalment of the three-part photo essay (see last week’s photo gallery here).

Indian Tribal Images is founded by Shrikrishna Paranjpe, president of the Balmudra Research and Development Centre in Pune. The initiative creates a photographic documentation for those interested in knowing about the original lifestyle of tribal communities. The photos capture the essence of collective tribal society, their progressive values and traditional art.

Talk is a portable device that can convert breath into speech for differently-abled users with speaking difficulties. The assistive technology device is a product from Robo, founded by Arsh Shah Dilbagi. He describes himself as a roboticist, creative technologist and full-stack developer.

Madhuban radio from Mount Abu in Rajasthan leverages FM channels as well as mobile media across a range of operators to provide news by and about marginalised and under-privileged communities. “It is not just negativity that sells. Positivity also sells. Honesty is attractive. Values are attractive,” the station proclaims as its mission statement.

Eeshwar Child Welfare was founded by Sapna Upadhyaya in 2005 to provide information, services and support for needy and sick children. The Lucknow-based organisation promotes positive attitudes for children to fight cancer, supports a rehabilitation centre for childhood cancer victims and provides them with educational resources as well as toys.

Procurement Learning is a World Bank-supported portal providing educational resources about procurement regulations, institutions and systems, especially in South Asia. It provides affordable and quality learning opportunities for procurement practitioners, as well as students who want to pursue a career in public procurement.

Citizen Matters is a Bangalore focused citizen-oriented news magazine, covering city public affairs, community and culture. It is published by Oorvani Media, an independent local media firm founded by Subramaniam Vincent and Meera K, both formerly from the IT industry. The portal encourages citizens, professionals and journalists alike to get involved in city affairs, reporting, collaboration and solution generation.

SimplEye from Kriyate is an accessibility app for the visually impaired. With a minimalist approach, the phone interface shows only relevant elements on screen. Simple and touch-anywhere gestures allow citizens to use the interface without the need for finding buttons. It includes features such as Braille typing and GPS navigation.

Seed Certification Solution in Madhya Pradesh allows online users to get details related to seed certification, seed production programmes, seed production techniques and availability of seeds. Other information services include eligibility of crop varieties for certification, field inspection, tagging and sealing. A list of seed processing centres is also available.

Mahila Shishu is a one stop multi-language scalable solution for use by officials of departments such as health, family welfare and rural development to manage welfare schemes targeting women and children. The entire application has been developed by the National Informatics Centre using open source technologies. Information of the beneficiary (woman or child) is centralised to avoid registration at multiple places.

Shotz7 is an independent short films aggregator in India. It allows both professional and aspiring film makers to showcase their films to a wider audience on a national and global online platform. Short films and independent films are available across multiple platforms such as web and apps.

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