1. No category

UNDP Technology for Citizen Engagement Challenge
Stage 2: From Idea to Concept
Congratulations! The idea you submitted to the UNDP Technology for Citizen Engagement
Challenge has been selected to move on to the next stage. In order to transform your idea into
a concept, you will have to follow the process outlined below. The deadline for submitting the
first version of this form is Friday, March 20, 10:00 GMT+2. Concepts will have to be finalized
by Wednesday, March 25, 10:00 GMT+2. Once finalized, the Mahallae team will upload the
concepts on Mahallae and the Mahallae community will be able to comment on, endorse, and
offer contributions to your project. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 10 and they will
be expected to join the Build Peace Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus between April 24 – April 26
to present their prototypes. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by UNDP.
A panel of judges made up of UNDP staff and technology for peace practitioners will select the
winning concepts according to the criteria below:
Criteria
Feasibility: The concept demonstrates clear and
realistic
plans
for
development
and
implementation.
Points
20
Capacity: The team clearly demonstrates that it
has the knowhow to turn the concept into reality.
20
Scalability: The concept demonstrates sufficient
potential to be scaled up after initial
implementation.
20
Community Support: The concept has received
sufficient support and interest from potential
users.
20
Value for Money: The budget accurately reflects
the scope and nature of the proposed activities.
20
TOTAL
100
Please use the instructions provided in the next pages to transform your idea into a concept.
1. Description (max. 600 words)
Every successful tool or service has a clear vision behind it. Describe your prototype by touching
on the following issues:
1. What specific problem are you trying to address?
Research from the social sciences documents that where ethnic, sectarian, or other intergroup
conflict is present, contact between the members of the involved groups, leads to more
positive outgroup attitudes and increased trust. The problem is, however, that in most places
where such conflicts exist, the opportunities for contact are minimal and segregation, either
imposed or self-selected, is instead the norm. It is indicative that in Northern Ireland about 90%
of children still attend separate faith (Catholic vs. Protestant) schools. In Cyprus, Greek Cypriots
(G/C) and Turkish Cypriots (T/C) have been segregated for decades; although crossing from one
side to the other has been allowed since 2003, the vast majority of people on either side rarely
(if ever) cross. As a result, intergroup contact is generally experienced only by a relatively small
number of individuals who are more inclined to seek such contact in the first place. A precursor,
but also a consequence, of the lack of contact with the other community is that G/C and T/C,
especially those of young age, don’t know much about each other. That is, although a number
of remarkable initiatives in Cyprus have been successful in promoting contact across the two
communities, most young Cypriots have limited cultural understanding and knowledge about
the everyday life and the habits of people on the other side. This makes them even less likely to
seek contact. Slice of Life (SOL) is a technology-based solution that aims to increase knowledge
about everyday life in Cyprus across communities, with the long-term goal of reducing outgroup
negativity and increasing contact.
2. What are the specific features and tools your prototype will employ to help address that
problem? Describe each feature briefly.
The prototype of SOL consists of an online platform that will host a collection of spherical
videos (i.e., with 360⁰ field-of-view) that capture everyday activities from the two communities
(e.g., family gatherings, classroom activities, excursions etc.). The videos will be made with
specialized cameras that rely on multiple lenses to film footage. This footage can be edited to
produce spherical videos that allow the observer to move the field-of-view in any direction
within the video. Although people can view the videos online and move with the mouse, they
can also use a Head-Mounted-Display (HMD) for Virtual Reality (VR) to immerse themselves in
the scene (i.e., as if standing at the location of the camera) and physically rotate their body in it.
We will set up a prototype system that combines the SOL platform with the Oculus Rift HMD to
provide users with a highly-realistic virtual experience.
3.
What specific impact do you aim to have? Explain how you are trying to contribute to
positive social change on the ground.
As many Cypriots resist the idea of crossing the divide and interacting with people from the
other community, we will capitalize on the recent advances in VR technology to provide the
means for virtual contact. By experiencing immersive video in an HMD, users will feel present in
real-life scenes from the other community and observe how people go on about their daily
lives. As the goal of the SOL is not to capture sightseeing locations or other points of interest,
but to provide “slices of life” from each community, we expect that through this virtual
interaction people will develop understandings about the culture and habits of the people in
the other community and note the similarities and differences. Such understandings may clear
misperceptions about the other group's culture, which in, our view, is an important prerequisite
of seeking actual contact and reconciliation. Thus, SOL will target primarily young G/C and T/C
who have generally both very limited knowledge about life in the other community and fewer
opportunities for contact. The SOL idea is in line with other international initiatives (e.g.,
Shared_Portals) that aim to promote encounters across populations. To our knowledge, it’s also
the first attempt to encourage contact across Cypriots by means of VR. Whereas previous VR
applications in Cyprus have aimed at providing knowledge about places (e.g., the virtual tour of
the Walls of Nicosia in the Leventis Museum), SOL will disseminate knowledge about the people
and their everyday life.
2. User Personas (max. 150 words each)
Every person who interacts with your product has their own story about why they’re doing it.
It is essential to understand your users as best as possible since you are creating something
for them to use. Create the profiles of 2 user personas that are potential users of your
prototype following the example below:
Name
Kostas
Age
22
Type
Undergraduate student
Essential Characteristics
Greek-Cypriot, born in Limassol, studying
Economics at the University of Cyprus. Enjoys
cycling.
Goal: “to meet T/C with similar interests and make
some friends in the T/C community ”
Sample questions:
-How do T/C behave when in groups? Do they joke
and laugh a lot? Are they loud as the G/C or are
they more reserved?
-How do T/C dress for different occasions? Do they
care about fashion? Are the same things in style
across the two communities?
Goals
Obstacles / Pain Points
“Don’t know any T/C and have no idea about their
hobbies”
“None of my friends want to go the north and I feel
nervous going on my own”
How can your prototype help?
-Kostas can use his tablet to watch videos with
events in which young T/C participate (e.g., cycling
excursions).
-He can visit the Psychology Department at his
university and view the videos in a VR HMD.
Without leaving his comfort zone, Kostas can catch
a glimpse of the life of young T/C and observe their
behavior in groups. He can then feel more
confident seeking acquaintances with common
interests.
Most important feature
Name
Meryem
Age
16
Type
High-school student
Essential Characteristics
Turkish-Cypriot, lives with parents in Kyrenia, wants
to become an Interior Designer
Goal: to find out if G/C design and use their homes
the same way as T/C.
Sample questions:
-How do G/C decorate their homes? Do they display
pictures of family? Do they prefer open-plan
designs, modern furniture etc?
-Do many families gather in a house for Easter? Do
children and adults sit together? What food/drinks
are served?
“Don’t know any G/C and my parents don’t visit
their G/C acquaintances”
“Can’t find pictures on line showing the inside of a
typical G/C home”
“Don’t feel at ease asking G/C on Facebook
questions about their homes”
-Meryem can use her computer to watch videos
from gatherings inside G/C homes.
-When the prototype comes to her school she will
view the videos in an HMD and feel as if she is
standing within a G/C home during an event.
Meryem will see how G/C design, decorate, and use
their homes for different functions. She will then
know what to expect when visiting a G/C home in
the future.
Goals
Obstacles / Pain Points
How can your prototype help?
Most important feature
3. Community Engagement (max. 300 words)
Engaging your users in the prototyping process can be greatly beneficial. How do you plan to
involve your users in the design and testing of your prototype? How will you ask them to
support your process?
We envision SOL to be an open-source, non-profit, community project, in which any person
from Cyprus or abroad can contribute to. Although we have formed an initial team that
collectively possesses all the necessary skills and expertise to develop and publicize the
prototype, our goal is to make SOL a crowd-driven project. That is, we plan to open up the
project to the public from the start and recruit many more people to the development team.
The goal of this is twofold. First, the process itself of building the prototype will allow us to
achieve to some degree what we aim to achieve with the prototype: contact between G/C and
T/C. Therefore, we will try to add to the development team as many people as possible from
the two communities. Second, as nowadays people are digitally connected to each other in
social media, involving many people in the development process is likely to attract though their
networks lots of potential users early on. We will encourage these users to try out the platform
and provide their feedback in a short survey form that will be available on the SOL platform. We
will ask them to indicate their satisfaction with the tool, note its shortcomings, and make
suggestions for improvement. A project team will analyze the collected data and make
suggestions to the development team for improvements.
The SOL platform will be available to everyone and at any age through the web, requiring only
an internet connection and basic computer use skills. The prototype with the HMD will be
made available for use at selected locations in both communities (e.g., schools and community
centers) and at places convenient to people from both communities (e.g., the Home of
Cooperation). For this purpose, we will aim to form partnerships with NGO’s and other
organizations (e.g., Teachers’ unions) that will allow us to field test the prototype with real
users – and primarily students – from both communities.
4. The Team (max. 450 words)
A successful project needs a good team around it, with clearly defined roles and
responsibilities. Please provide the following information:
1.
Brief bios of your team members, including roles and responsibilities for this project
We have set-up an initial team that collectively possesses the necessary expertise in all aspects
of the proposed work, ranging from a solid background in the underlying theory to the specific
technical skills entailed by building and launching the prototype.
Lucy Avraamidou is the coordinator of the project. Lucy has research interests in the use of
technology in curriculum and instruction and holds an Associate Professor position in Education
at the University of Nicosia. She will be responsible for the planning and organization of
activities and will contribute on issues relating to the theoretical underpinnings of life history as
well as on human-computer interaction (HCI). Andria Shimi, a School Psychologist and a
Cognitive/Developmental Neuroscientist, will also contribute her expertise on issues relating to
HCI particularly with children users. Andria is currently a post-doc at the University of Oxford.
Being an amateur photographer, Andria will also help with the development of content. Marios
Avraamides, Kleanthis Neokleous, and Yiorgos Chyrsanthou will set-up the on-line platform
and oversee all technical work entailed by the prototype. Marios is a Cognitive Psychologist
who uses VR for his research. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology of
the University of Cyprus and the director of the Experimental Psychology Lab
(http://www.experimentalpsych.com). Kleanthis has extensive experience with VR equipment.
He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus and is the co-founder of
Silversky3D Virtual Reality Technologies Ltd (http://www/silversky3d.com). Yiorgos is an
Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus,
heading the Computer Graphics Lab (http://graphics.cs.ucy.ac.cy). Charis Psaltis and Maria
Ioannou will be responsible for selecting content that fits the scope of the project; both Charis
and Maria are Social Psychologists with research interests and expertise in intergroup contact
and intergroup relations. Charis is an Assistant Professor at the University of Cyprus founder
and director of the Centre for Field Studies (https://ucy.ac.cy/pakepe/en/general-information)
and the Genetic Social Psychology Lab (http://www.ucy.ac.cy/sdp/en/genetic-socialpsychology-lab/research-programme). Maria is a senior researcher at the Centre for
Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and holds a PhD from the University of
Oxford. Maria Arettines will consult the group on issues related to publicity and dissemination.
Maria is a counselor and instructor at the Department of Applied Psychology at New York
University. She has worked with countless non-governmental organizations, non-profits, and
public and private institutions as an educator, coordinator, and researcher across the US, Latin
America, and Cyprus. Sholeh Zahraei and Kamil Saldun are the founders of Lupa Pictures
(http://lupapictures.com), an art production team. They have produced several short films and
documentaries and have won various awards at international film festivals. Their latest film is
‘Letters to Cyprus’ which is based on original letters from 1974 found in Cyprus. Sholeh and
Kamil will contribute to the promotion of the prototype through short professional video clips.
2. Organisations and other partners that are supporting your project
-Silversky3D Virtual Reality Technologies Ltd (htpp://www.silversky3d.com)
-Experimental Psychology Lab at the University of Cyprus (http://experimentalpsych.com)
-Genetic Social Psychology Lab at the University of Cyprus
(http://www.ucy.ac.cy/sdp/en/genetic-social-psychology-lab/research-programme)
-Computer Graphics Lab at the University of Cyprus (http://graphics.cs.ucy.ac.cy)
-Developmental Psychopathology Lab at the University of Cyprus (http://www.dplabucy.com)
-Developmental Psychology Lab at the University of Cyprus
-Lupa Pictures (http://lupapictures.com)
-Home of Cooperation (http://www.home4cooperation.info)
-Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR; http://www.ahdr.info)
-Center for the Advancement of Research and Technology Education (CARDET;
http://www.cardet.org)
-Cyprus
Center
for
Intercultural
Studies
at
the
University
of
Nicosia
(http://www.unic.ac.cy/research/affiliated-institutions-business-links/academically-affiliatedinstitutions/cyprus-center-for-intercultural-studies-ccis)
3. Missing roles inside the team and plans for finding the right people to fulfil them.
Once we develop the prototype we will need to test it with actual naive users. Although the
members of the team have a wide range of acquaintances within both G/C and T/C, we will
need to recruit at least 2 researchers who will coordinate testing in the two communities.
These researchers could be graduate students from the research institutions supporting the
project who might be interested in carrying research with the prototype. Moreover, once the
project starts we will make a public call for other people to join our team as volunteers
contributing to different stages of the project, including testing. We are confident that through
this call we will be able to recruit people that share our motivation to pursue this project with
no personal financial gain.
5. Draft Prototype (please attach image)
Simulating how a project might work in practice and how a user might interact with it can help you refine your thinking. Create a
first draft of your prototype that captures the vision you have for your platform, app, or other technology-enabled tool or service.
You can use pen and paper, Photoshop or Illustrator, or one of these online tools: Proto.io, Cacoo, Balsamiq.
ON-LINE PLATFORM
IMMERSIVE VR GEAR
6. Budget
Please provide an outline of the budget using the following table:
Activity
Designing the
project site and
hosting it on a
reliable server
Production of a
manuscript that
describes the
theoretical
foundations of the
project
Intended result of Deliverable
activity
(what will be
produced as a
result
of
the
activity)
The site of the
Project web site
project will be up and
running. Through the
site we will provide
information to the
public and recruit
volunteers and
support. The site will
be designed to host
the videos that will
be filmed.
Responsible
Location
person/partner activity
(if known)
Proposed
budget
(US$)
Kleanthis
Neokleous,
Marios
Avraamides,
Yiorgos
Chrysanthou,
other
volunteers
(and/or paid
programmers)
of Timeframe:
Indicate
the
month/year
that the activity
will take place
Silversky3D
Will start with
VRT LTD
the project and
laboratories. be completed
within the 1st
month
3000
Manuscript prepared
upon the following
ideas:
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Maria Ioannou,
Charis Psaltis
University of
Nicosia &
University of
Cyprus
0
-Description of the
problem through the
lens of peace
education/conflict
resolution
Manuscript
Will start with
the project and
be completed
within the 1st
month
-Discussion of the
role of life history and
ethnographic
approaches in
addressing the
problem
Tool specifications
Filming footage for
4-5 scenes to set-up
the initial database
-Discussion of the
role of technology in
addressing the
problem
A set of guidelines for
producing videos
(i.e., decide content,
setting, etc) so that
the scientific goals of
the project can be
achieved.
Production of
spherical videos of
everyday life scenes.
The activity involves
on-site filming
followed by video
editing.
A technical report
with the set of
specifications for
the videos to be
made.
Charis Psaltis,
Maria Ioannou,
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Andria Shimi,
Sholeh Zahraei,
Kamil Saldun
University of
Cyprus &
University of
Nicosia
Will start with
the project and
be completed
within the 1st
month
Videos posted on
the on-line
platform
Marios
Avraamides,
Andria Shimi,
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Kleanthis
Neokleous,
Sholeh Zahraei,
Kamil Saldun
and other
Filming will
be done onsite, editing
will take
place at
Silversky3D
VRT LTD
laboratories.
Will start on the
2nd month of the
project.
0
3500
volunteers.
Advertising the
project
Raising awareness
about the project to
recruit more people
to the cause (as well
as potential
investors) by
advertising it in social
media, publications,
and local events.
List of advertising
venues (web-sites,
events, social
media etc.)
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Maria
Arretines,
Maria Ioannou,
Sholeh Zahraei,
Kamil Saldun
On-line and
print media
Testing the
prototype
Initially we will do inhouse usability
testing.
Subsequently, testing
will take place at
different locations in
Cyprus with naïve
users. Feedback from
users of the web
interface will also be
collected and
analyzed
-Technical report
with results from
usability testing
Marios
Avraamides,
Kleanthis
Neokleous,
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Andria Shimi,
Charis Psaltis,
Maria Ioannou,
Yiorgos
Chrysanthou,
and other
volunteers
Initially at
the labs of
Silversky3D
and at the
University of
Cyprus.
Subsequently
at other
locations in
Cyprus.
1500
Once the final
product (which has
been improved
following testing)
-Manual for
producing videos
Lucy
Avraamidou,
Marios
Avraamides,
On-line and
print media
1000
Launch phase
-Summary of user
comments
-new promotional
Will start with
the project and
continue
throughout its
duration
1000
becomes available,
videos
we will aim at
-articles in the
enriching the video
press
database. We will
provide instructions
to citizens on how to
produce videos
themselves for the
platform. At the same
time, we will
continue to advertise
the tool both locally
and internationally
through new
promotional videos
and articles in social
media and the press.
TOTAL
Maria
Arretines,
Maria Ioannou,
Sholeh Zahraei,
Kamil Saldun,
Yiorgos
Chrysanthou,
Kleanthis
Neokleous,
Charis Psaltis,
Maria Ioannou,
and other
volunteers
10,000
7. In-kind Contributions
Once your concept goes back onto Mahallae, members of the public will be able to endorse it,
ask questions, provide comments and offer in kind resources. Use the table below to indicate
the resources you would like to request from your community, up to a maximum of 6 different
items.
Resource
Web designer
Supervisors for testing with HMDs
Back-up facilities (e.g., cloud storage, NAS)
Filming Crew
Quantity
1-2
2
8TB
As many people as possible depending on
number of cameras available
Video editing
2-3 people (can be trained by Silversky3D
Ltd)
People to analyze user feedback
2-3
Scientists to use the tool for research As many as possible
projects
Collaborators for writing grant proposals to As many as possible
secure funding beyond the period supported
by UNDP
Note. Our goal is to recruit many people for the development team to contribute towards
different aspects of the prototype development, testing, and launch. However, to ensure that
the project can be completed regardless of how this recruitment unfolds, we have made sure to
include in our initial team all the expertise that is needed to complete all aspects of work.
Specifically, our team includes individuals possessing experience with VR hardware and
software, web design, filming and video editing, research methodology and statistics, grant
writing etc. In addition, we have included in our budget some funds to cover the costs of
specific services if needed. Also, we will capitalize on our academic affiliations to initiate
research projects and secure external funding to expand the project further in the future.
8. Sustainability (max. 300 words)
How do you plan to sustain your prototype? Describe how you are planning to attract other
financial resources and establish strategic partnerships in the future.
From the beginning of the project we will put much effort into advertising it in various ways,
aiming to attract not only volunteers to work on it but also potential investors. Although a nonprofit project, we are confident that SOL will be attractive to a number of social entrepreneurs
both from Cyprus and abroad (e.g., the Stelios Foundation). In parallel, we will direct our efforts
in securing further funding from local (e.g., Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation; CRPF) and
international sources (EU grants). It should be noted that many of the members of the current
team are academics with experience in attracting funding from various sources (i.e., EU, UNDP,
CRPF) for their research. Collectively, in the last decade we have managed funded projects with
over $2,5 million of funding. Thus, once the prototype is completed, we will apply for research
funding that will allow us to carry out scientific research with it and disseminate our findings.
We will look closely for applicable calls in Horizon 2020 as well as other possible sources (e.g.,
Eurostars, Erasmus+, Marie Curie ITN grants). Possible research funding will allow us to carry
out control experiments and ethnographic studies to determine how effective the SOL
prototype is in advancing knowledge and encouraging contact across members of the two
communities.