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How can isolated people, migrants, or marginalised individuals, who are new to a place, orient themselves better, facilitate networking, and integrate into society?
Call In aims to promote the participation of socially isolated people, migrants or marginalised individuals as volunteers in social projects or participants of events supported by organisations. Through this activity we encourage the networking across different social groups.
We need help in verifying if our idea is valuable for our target group.
- Organisations and associations working with migrants and refugees
- Socially excluded people seeking options to participate in projects
- Individuals who want to invest their talents, time, and energy in social projects
Two designers and one programmer, who met in a hackathon
We need more:
- Increase our team of developers
- Marketing and business strategy, someone who pitches 🙂
Creation of a new social media app which helps isolated people, migrants, or marginalised individuals, who are new to a place, to integrate faster in a community and operate both offline and online.
It might combine:
- content for orientation and suggestions similar to a travel app
- networking functions like Facebook events or Meetup
- volunteering platforms.
We are grateful for all kinds of feedback and ideas to:
- Increase our network to a specific area that is suitable for our app
- Feedback on the project idea
Feel free to comment in german, english, spanish, arabic or french!
SUMMARY FEEDBACK
///Important questions
Are there ways of mitigating those challenges?
///Feedback for target group refugees
///Similar products and project ideas already existing
0 thoughts on “Call In”
Erich Waidmann says:
Hallo Leute,
Ich wäre an einer Zusammenarbeit interessiert. (Autistencafe)
Wohlwollende Grüße,
Erich “Ruslan” Waidmann
Tamara.Aepli says:
Lieber Erich, vielen Dank für die Nachricht! 🙂 Unter den aufgeschaltenen Ideen vor dem Kickoff gestern warst du derjenige von dem ich dachte, dass vielleicht eine Synergie passieren könnte. Auch weil du angegeben hast, dass du mithilfe eines Apps Hilfsbedürftige und Freiwillige/Unterstützer zusammenbringen willst. Das ist auch unser Ziel. Am besten tauschen wir uns direkt aus. Ich habe gesehen, wir wurden schon von Holger vernetzt. Ich werde mich bald per email bei dir melden!
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Hallo Tamara, danke für diese Idee. Ich denke es gibt hier Anknüpfungspunkte nicht nur beim Autistencafe, sondern auch bei:
* Pausenbrot: https://solvefortomorrow.ch/pausenbrot/
* Still Alice: https://solvefortomorrow.ch/still-alice/
* Un: https://solvefortomorrow.ch/un-arbeitstitel/
Ausserdem wäre es sinnvoll, wenn ihr mal schaut, ob es Organisationen gibt, die gute Kontakte zu deiner Zielgruppe haben. Es gibt ja z.B. bereits zahlreiche Programme, die sich um Flüchtlinge kümmern, und diverse Plattformen und Apps, über die freiwilliges Engagement organisiert werden kann. Habt ihr da schon Kontakte?
Patricia says:
Hoi Tamara, zwar sind meine Ideen im gleichen Bereich, jedoch etwas anders ausgerichtet bezüglich Herausforderung und Lösung. ABER: ich habe genau die Kompetenzen (Marketing und Businessstrategie), die euch fehlen, daher let’s chat! Mich würde es natürlich sehr interessieren, wie weit ihr bereits seid/ob bereits ein Pitchpapier existiert? Liebe Grüsse
Tamara.Aepli says:
Liebe Patricia, danke für die Nachricht! Lass uns doch einfach mal direkt austauschen, vielleicht können wir uns gegenseitig weiterhelfen? Du kannst mir gerne schreiben, wann du mal Zeit hast (tamara.aepli@gmail.com). Wir haben bisher ein Mockup Prototyp der App und sind am Beginn der technischen Umsetzung. Wir sind jetzt daran eine Umfrage unter potentiellen Usern zu starten…
Unser Businessplan… der steht noch in den Sternen!
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Ich denke euer Businessplan kann für den Moment noch gut in den Sternen stehen, und auch mit dem Pitch würde ich mir noch Zeit lassen. Mein Vorschlag wäre, dass ihr jetzt während des Online-Wettbewerbs einfach versucht, möglichst viele Leute auf euer Projekt aufmerksam zu machen. Falls ihr 100 Leute findet, die für euer Projekt stimmen, so wäre das ein klares Zeichen, dass ein breites Interesse besteht – und ihr hättet dann 100 Adressen von Leuten, die euch unterstützen und vielleicht auch bereit sind, sich zu engagieren. Wenn ihr hingegen nicht über 10 Stimmen hinauskommt, so wäre vermutlich nicht der richtige Zeitpunkt, um Vollgas zu geben. Wenn ihr dann Rückendeckung habt, dann könnt ihr Fragen wie Businessplan und Pitch während der folgenden Coaching-Phase vertiefen, das sind natürlich Elemente, die bei uns dazu gehören.
Tamara.Aepli says:
Lieber Holger, vielen Dank für deine Inputs! Tatsächlich, der nächste Punkt auf unserer Todo-Liste ist, direkten Kontakt zu Organisationen und bestehenden Vermittlungsplattformen zu knüpfen. Mit einzelnen Organisationen in der Flüchtlingsarbeit haben wir uns schon ausgetauscht, mit dem Ergebnis, dass es tatsächlich sehr populär ist, eine digitale “Plattform” zu entwickeln wo sich alle vernetzen sollen – wobei sich bei einzelnen oft “alte” Methoden wie Telefonanrufe oder Newsletter bewähren. Wir wollen natürlich nicht einfach eine zweite Benevol Plattform oder fiveup App entwickeln, sondern etwas das eine Lücke schliesst! Und diese müssen wir jetzt besser kennenlernen…
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Sehr wichtig finde ich hier den Hinweis auf die “alten” Methoden. Die sind in der Tat oft die wirkungsvollsten, weil sie persönlicher sind als der reine Online-Kontakt. Bewährt hat sich für viele Projekte eine sinnvolle Kombination von Online und Offline – man kann z.B. Online-Kanäle nutzen, um Leute auf Veranstaltungen aufmerksam zu machen (wie das bei Meetup geschieht). Was sich auch bewährt hat sind monatliche “Stammtische”, bei denen ihr euch mit den Leuten austauschen könnt, die besonders engagiert sind.
Anna Antonios says:
Great idea, especially for integration purposes in a new culture. Would love to see this come to life!
Tamara.Aepli says:
Thank you for your comment Anna! Did you do own experiences in integrating into Swiss a society? if yes, what obstacles did you have and what do you think would have been helpful? E.g. for me, when I was living abroad, I used Social media platforms to know about events, where I could go alone and meet new people…
Loise Pignat says:
Living in a foundation whose aim is the integration of migrant people, we are in full reflection and we start with small actions such as gardening or sharing a coffee. For the time being, we remain out of technology and out of the digital world. But I think that a tool developed WITH van Eritrean person (for example) can be really close to sustainable needs with this topics. I will be happy to read you and I like the idee !
Tamara.Aepli says:
Hello Loise, thank you for commenting! Direct contact is of course the final goal! Interesting for us would be to know, how your organisation organises the actions? do you have a public community garden with a cafe where locals know that there are alway activities and where you invite newcomers? How would you think a digital tool could be helpful to spread the word about your activities? It would be nice to exchange this with you or someone else from your organisation? 😉
Estefania Estremera says:
Sehr interessant!
Tamara.Aepli says:
Liebe Estefania, es freut uns, dass dir unsere Projektidee gefällt! Hilfreich für uns wäre es zu erfahren, was dir besonders daran gefällt. Hast du eigene Integrationserfahrungen gemacht? Falls ja, wo hast du dich dabei verloren gefühlt, was hat dir geholfen? Wo hast du Informationen bekommen? Denkst du, um sich als Neuzuzüger integriert zu fühlen, ist es wichtig sich (zum Beispiel als Volunteer) in lokalen Projekten zu engagieren? Oder wichtiger, Events zu finden, die den eigenen Interessen entsprechen?
Natürlich darfst du uns auch über die private Nachrichtenfunktion („Autor/In schreiben“) ein detaillierteres Feedback geben… Wir würden uns freuen!
Shary Baumann says:
This is a really nice project, trying to gather people with similar profiles, or with the will to connect with new people is always a good project.
Tamara.Aepli says:
Hi Shary, thank you for your comment! So in your opinion the matching part is a key feature? Something what dating platforms make (match similar profiles), but not for dating?
I believe that important for integration is at the end, to successfully create friendships and feel respected. Both happens more likely if there is a common ground or a similar understanding of things…
Attila Meszaros says:
Sounds very interesting. If you need some help, let me know. Hope to help!
Tamara.Aepli says:
Please! 🙂 What help could you offer? Joining the team of Call In or giving us some personal information on some of the questions or comments which are mentioned in this page are helpful! Feel free to write us a direct message.
Alejandra GC says:
Great initiative! I look forward to see your progress!
Mahdessian Maria says:
How do you think it could improve?
Janet Hernández says:
Ich finde, es ist eine großartige Initiative, die Welt braucht Menschen wie Sie.
Vlad Glaveanu says:
A much needed app and a great time to make it happen, best of luck!
Angelica Becerra says:
I love this initiative! It’s an excellent way to get involved with our community
Julien George says:
Dear Call In Team,
Your idea is very interesting. I see two potential challenges regarding the participation of migrants/marginalized people:
1. Language might be an important barrier to integrate a new society, especially for migrants. Aiming at reaching out to migrants in an inclusive manner, the app and its content will have to be available in many different languages to be accessible by the most marginalized.
2. Data protection and safety will be key to establish trust with people who are sometimes staying in the country illegally. The people without permits are among the most vulnerable migrants and have little opportunities to socialize in the society due to their status. Targeting these population, you will have to implement strong protection of the participants (both on the app and during events), in respect with the “do no harm” principle.
In a next step once the app is already functional, I also encourage you to assess the diversity of the events that are shared through the platform and try to ensure/promote events are inclusive and some are dedicated to specifically vulnerable categories (e.g. women, children, etc.).
All the best
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
These are really good points. Another challenge could be to even get in touch with those people who are staying here illegally – do you have any idea how that could be achieved?
Tamara.Aepli says:
Thank you very much Julien for pointing out those important points. Some of them, we have actually discussed internally and are aware of it, although we don’t know the “right way” yet.
1. language is an important point and will be challenging to have included. I can imagine that some parts of the app could be made available in many languages (what we defined as “content for orientation and suggestions similar to a travel app”): this could include e.g. drop-in-centers for migrants, community centres, world cafes, relevant organisations or publications. (e.g. in Zurich there exists a print booklet about free events targeted for people with little money and it is also translated in several languages)
I am not an expert, but there might also be a digital solution of instant translation…(?)
For now we draft in englisch… but we are aware that it needs translations.
2.I think your second point is partly a technical issue: in the development of the app – giving options to protect it’s identity. But it gets complicated, when we think, how we can be sure, that vulnerable individuals are not used, f.e. by someone who offers “help” but has something else in mind. So on one hand we want to protect the identity, but also make sure that there is not a complete fake account. At the moment we came to the conclusion to have a “rating” system, maybe similar to the couchsurfing app and include with that social control. I think, very close cooperation with organisation who are experienced is also key.
Does someone else has experience on this and could give us some recommendations?
@Holger: I think talking to people working in Autonome Schule Zürich and advertising in institutions like SPAZ (a drop-in-center for Sans Papier) could be a starting point!
Krista Pinero says:
I think this idea is really something neededn in Switzerland. Many migrants, which are no on social help, end up being isolated by the system, with many difficulties in integrating into the Swiss society, making their integration almost impossible. It is a great idea to have an app where one can register and connect directly with companies for volunteering or participating in projects to contribute skills and have at the same time the possibility to network and build the path to get a job in the swiss market.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Connecting with companies is an interesting element. @Tamara: I suggest you also check out https://netzwaerk.ch/.
Tamara.Aepli says:
Thank you Krista for your sharing your point of view! While drafting the idea, we were thinking about the functions:
1. individuals who describe their interests and their skillset
2. project coordinators or organisations who are looking for co-creators or volunteers who could then make a “call” (that’s where the name “Call In” comes from)
Both could find each other based on their interests and skillsets.
Like this, participating in projects would give options to bring in own skills and this could be especially interesting for unemployed people or migrants who may have not (yet) a permission to work. What would differ Call In from normal volunteering platforms is, that we want to set the structures (with help of the specially designed app) easier for newcomers (or other socially excluded persons) to engage. E.g. our target group for individuals are not swiss people who want to help and volunteer in organisations (e.g. supporting migrants) but those individuals who have little options to bring in their talents but are eager to do so.
It is a very good point to also include companies or startups, besides organisations. Thanks for pointing this out and let us know of anything else which might be relevant!
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
A question that I am asking myself: is the creation of an app the best solution to tackle this problem? Could it be that offline interaction would add more depth? Could it be that not all migrants have internet access? I am just asking because at the moment I often have the impression that apps are seen as the answer to all problems – so it might be a good idea to reflect on this. In 2019 we had a team that worked on an app, and they wrote to me:
“If we were aiming to be successful, we would need 100% commitment from the start. Part-time working on it for this type of business, and see how it goes will not work. An application like this needs an MVP before it can attract proper funding. Build such an MVP we need to contract third part to build it and it’s not a small cost. It will take us working on it full speed for 6 months and invest a good amount of money before we could know what is the chance we can succeed. App building is a very competitive market. We are looking at only about 1% success rate even if people invest a lot of money and work full time on it. “
Mahdessian Maria says:
In my opinion, this is definitely not THE SOLUTION. It could be a tool accompanying offline interaction/life, or a tool that could nurture the offline life/interactions and vice verse.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
I agree – and the added benefit would be that you have a much lower cost to get started. I still think that a website would be useful to disseminate information, but a simple discussion board could be all you need to get started, combined with a list of events and a newsletter tool.
Ayana Martins says:
The new coronavirus came and, with it, a time of isolation, but, in my life in Switzerland, I never felt so connected. I could finally participate in a hackathon. I liked it so much that I did 7! I could finally attend a concert, and I have been to more social gatherings in the last two months than in the last three years.
Dear Call In team, my name is Ayana and I am in your target group. Thank you for putting effort into solving this challenge! As you probably already know, there are many people out there who need your solution. Also, we are a very heterogeneous group with different needs. I think you should consider narrowing the target group further, at least initially. My other initial thoughts are:
– There are already several resources out there and the idea of compiling them is interesting. How are you going to ensure that your solution reaches the people who need it? How are they going to discover the app? (if it is an app)
– In my experience with the migrant community, the three main things preventing people from engaging in activities are the lack of i) knowledge of the local language, ii) childcare and iii) means to afford transportation. Are there ways of mitigating these challenges?
I’d be happy to share more of my experience and the challenges that I have been facing if you wish. Also, if you want to do surveys, I am part of a network of more than 5000 Portuguese-speaking women living in Switzerland. 😉
Tamara.Aepli says:
Dear Ayana, thank you so much for your very valuable input! Comments like this is really what we need. We ARE preparing a survey, so YES, it would be amazing to gain access to your network! 🙂
– it is interesting what you say, that you discovered more chances to connect now during this time, when many were forced to do their events digitally. I’m wondering if (a) there where not so many digital events/hackatons before? If there where, why didn’t you get the information about it? or (b) if the implementation of such completely digitally events will also influence the way how events are organised post-corona, when it will be possible to do such things in the impact hub again. It is true, that having digital access is opening up the horizon to many people which could not join on site due to reasons you mentioned… similar to remote working or remote studying, participants could maybe not always join the physical gathering but still be part of a community and gain new contacts. We should definitely think about marking such events
Tamara.Aepli says:
about the other points you mentioned:
– we are discussing the target group back and forth internally in our team. Should we narrow, should we open up? We feel that there is a problem, but are we tackle it the right way? I agree, that we should narrow the target group…
– about how the people are going to discover out app is off course not an easy to answer question, but possible solutions could be: (1) advertisement in the migration office (everyone who registers new to a place is getting a “welcome” brochure. Also there are several event in different languages which explain important things and institutions), (2) cooperation (even co-creation of the app) with a relevant organisation who has many years of experience of how to reach out to this target group. (3) advertisement in german language schools and community centres (social workers are off course also specialists of networking and spreading information) (4) web visibility, e.g. linkedIn, facebook advertisment? Those are just some ideas….
Ayana Martins says:
Dear Tamara,
I have been wondering about those questions myself. For me, this movement towards the digital world definitely resulted in more inclusion. On one hand, ideally, digital inclusion should somehow be translated into offline inclusion. On the other hand, I have been thinking about how digital inclusion can enrich the lives of everyone that due to either temporary or permanent reasons cannot participate in offline community life easily.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Dear Ayana, you raise some very important points:
– before developing a new app it makes sense to have a closer look at resources that are already available – and to find out to what extent they are solving the problem and what still needs to be done.
– you point to three important obstacles. I think these are great starting points to think about the focus of an additional resource. For example, is there an offer to help migrants with childcare? (Probably there is, at least in some municipalities. Then the next question would be: does it get used, does it solve the problem?)
– I think it would also be interesting to think about the three greatest opportunities – where are the leverage points to improve the situation? For example childcare could both be an obstacle and an opportunity – my hypothesis is that the easiest way for a migrant to get to know other people is frequently by getting to know parents of other kids. Would it be possible to create something that facilitates participation in Swiss society by bringing together parents?
Tamara.Aepli says:
I also think, that childcare is available in many events (although far not everywhere!). The problem is to spread the information about WHERE it is available (and maybe where it is available for free). If we set our focus on migrant women (as an example) we definitely should label these options – make it more visible. I know of a community centre in zurich, where the social worker’s focus is on migrant mothers, so to make programs for the mothers (and not only for kids), where childcare is always set and like this bring the women out of isolation.
It is true that getting to know parents might be an option, but in my opinion it is more important to simplify the connection of people which are connected through their interests (and not having only the children as a common interest). But of course this is not excluding it 😉
Ayana Martins says:
Zürich city has indeed an excellent integration program overall. As far as I know, this is not true for most cities or villages. Also, there are indeed opportunities for meeting parents, but my overall feeling is that, in terms of integration, having small children has been more of a challenge than an opportunity.
Tamara.Aepli says:
We have just got the hint to this app: https://i-need.ch
This app aims to provide information to refugees and help their integration in Switzerland as well. It’s a nice collection of the services but it’s true that not all regions are included…
Karina Melkonian says:
This is a very important initiative. It is true that there are already established projects and programs targeting this group of people, however, this specific aspect of their everyday lives (which is networking) has been overlooked.
Holger Hoffmann-Riem says:
Good point about networking. Last year there was FriendsUp (https://2019.solvefortomorrow.ch/2019/09/10/idea-1090/), which initially was going in a similar direction. It might be a good idea to get in touch with Emma Beath who I am sure would be happy to share her experiences.
Tamara.Aepli says:
Thank you Holger to pointing us to that idea. I just checked it, it’s for sure helpful to hear what Emma has to add to this topic!