In business, a digital platform is a total of a world for information exchange, services, goods, and knowledge between consumers and producers, including the community involved with the particular platform. A community is an important part of that digital platform. Without the community, the digital platform has almost no value.

What is the Digital Platform for Adolescent?

Adolescents are between the ages of 10-18- a period when many critical factors influence adult life foundations.

The Digital Platform for Adolescent is an application providing multiple features for adolescents to connect, share & access information on various topics relevant to their lives. These are regarding the things in which they face barriers to learning.

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Who is the target audience of this application?

The target audiences of this app are adolescents and mostly from the rural areas of Bangladesh. Since their ages are between 10-18 years, they face challenges in information, knowledge, and service access.

Hundred adolescent club members and peer-educators from Bhola have been trained for the digital platform; around three hundred adolescent clubs with more than 7000 adolescent members are currently using it.

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How does this help the adolescents of Bangladesh?

The application contains a protected database of adolescent clubs whose GIS (Geographical information system) information is available to add more.
The digital app has an opinion poll feature to allow adolescents to express their ideas on various issues.
It also provides access and links to services, availability of reports linked to child marriage.
A connection with Child Help Line 1098 to report on child marriage within the digital application.
An information center and FAQ function on critical topics of interests.
The app gives access to all materials related to adolescents’ well-being, rights, or support toward health issues.

So, the User Interface of the app is kept simple. Also, that is available in both Bangla and English language, which is the most critical aspect.

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Software Requirement Specification

Android 4.4 and above
Ram 1 GB
Quad-core, 1.3 GHz
Network 2G, 3G

Why is this a reliable application for the longer run?

The app has both offline and online versions. The offline version does not require an internet connection to use the app and have all features in the app's online version.
The app is developed in an Open Source platform to make it a long-term usable and upgradable UNICEF product.
The User Interface is simple and easy to use.
By simple keyword search, both Bangla/English users can access any information they are looking for with a content repository system.
The online content repository server allows an authenticated distributed application to upload/download content, access information, downloads for software and updates, etc.
With the GIS database system, users can find different NGOs and service delivery points that help adolescents regarding their problems.
The app has a Group Chat option based on specific problems. Users can interact with each other and help others with a control panel from Admin/dashboard.
The app is linked with Child Helpline- 1098 and UNICEF to report child marriage and other issues.
The app will have a connection with U-report. Also, adolescent users will be allowed to share their opinion with poll features to express their ideas and thoughts that can generate reports.
The app will ensure users' security and prevent any threats to user data.

History and background of Digital Platform for Adolescent

There are 36 million adolescents in Bangladesh, including 18 million girls and boys together, representing nearly one-fifth of the country’s total population of 144 million. But adolescent-friendly services are not yet a familiar concept. Because of the high rate of child marriage, adolescent girls in Bangladesh face risk from early pregnancies, violence, lack of nutrition, and many more.

UNICEF supports making available standard operating procedures and guidelines for quality and utilization of the adolescent-friendly package. The Child Protection Section of UNICEF Bangladesh and Riseup Labs planned to create an app that helps and protects any risky situation for adolescents.

This application will improve the overall monitoring system of adolescent services. It will also enhance fund management plans and procedures and help the Government of Bangladesh and UNICEF make the right decisions. In selecting clubs to provide GIS (Geographical Information System), mapping service to help adolescents.

Application User Manual

Homepage

Since this Application is intended primarily for adolescents who can easily use it, the home page is colorful and friendly.

Each button has different contents. You can see educational materials, U-report, Emergency communication, GIS, Group chat, Setting, and Login/Logout from here.

If you participate in a group chat, you must log in.

Homepage of Digital Platform For Adolescent

You can find a list of educational materials by pressing the contents button.

They are life-skill-based education, Pre-Parenting education, Emergency, Livelihood, Food and nutrition, Health, ICT, Gender, Child Protection, Human Diversity, Ethics, and Morality.

Entering the single chapter from the list of contents result in a chapter-based question. Then by pressing on the problem, you can see the answer, and there are pictures, videos, audios, and PDF included with it.

The MCQ button appears at the very end of the topic's discussion in each chapter. After answering all the questions, pressing the results button will show how many questions are correct. For every incorrect one, the correct answer will be shown.

Contents from Digital Platform for adolescent

U-Report

You can access the user feedback list by pressing the U-Report button.

Then after entering one of the lists, you'll see different queries on statistics, place wise, gender, and age-wise.

U-Report Digital Platform For Adolescent

Emergency Contact

The emergency button shows health information, child support, women support, urgent assistance, advanced disaster information, sexual and health support.

Then when you press the child support button, you are ready to send a direct call to 1098- the child support service.

Emergency Contact from Digital Platform For Adolescent

GIS

If you press the GIS button, you will need to select the Division, District, Upazila, and club to get their service support.

Upon entering, you will see information about the club, police station support, health care, and educational support.

GIS from Digital Platform for Adolescent

Group Chat

When you press the chat button, it will show two login types, Login as a club or Login as an Admin.

If you press on the login button as a club member, you must select the name, club secret code, district, Upazila.

The Login feature is the same type as this portion.

Group Chat from Digital Platform for Adolescent

FAQ

Pressing the FAQ button will show all application-related questions.

Pressing on the question will show all application information.

FAQ from Digital Platform For Adolescent

Features of Digital Platform for Adolescent

App

Offline Usability
Educational contents with image, audio, video, pdf viewer and MCQs
Polls feature of U-Report Bangladesh
Linked with emergency contacts
GIS of Adolescent club database
Group Chat System
Offline Synchronization

Web System

Content repository system
Dynamic chatting module
GIS management system
Activity Report management
User management
Media management

Benefits of The Platform in Adolescents’ Life

This app addresses all kinds of specified problems' solutions and learning contents. For instance, the topics include teenage pregnancies, micronutrient deficiencies, risky sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS, injuries, tobacco, alcohol or drugs, and others to increase awareness regarding those issues.
The app is available for Offline use also. There is an option to sync data online. Choosing the option will start downloading contents from an online cloud server with internet data. So, adolescents who don't have internet access all the time has an advantage.
The most important/vital part of this project is that this app is lower in size and supports almost all lower quality devices. This help adolescents directly because not everyone can have a suitable device.
Adolescents will get matured with time. They will learn things that involve sensitive topics and for which they had no clues earlier.
HCD methodologies and other techniques are used to make the User Interface simple and easy to use.
The app has a GIS data storing system online to provide adolescents' problems data and analytics for UNICEF.

The connection with UNICEF

Adolescents can also send Reports to UNICEF directly from the App including relevant text, images, video’s etc.

From the Admin Panel, UNICEF can take actions against the reports coming from the App with user’s GIS information.

UNICEF can connect with the adolescents members through the Group Chat system, where adolescents log in the system as club members, and UNICEF and other admin users login the system as admin and they can chat with each other.

App Feature of Digital Platform for Adolescent

The testing and launching phase

The application also faced some challenges from time to time. The main testing phases include:

Developing the application and keep up with the changes from time to time
Checking and running the app on different quality android phones
Measure the problems during the application run and find the causes
Follow the finding solution for next tasks
User feedback taking & implementation
Continuous bug fixing

App Launching and Training- Child Protection Section of UNICEF Bangladesh and Riseup Labs had organized a launching ceremony for the “Digital Platform for Adolescent” on December 10, 2019. 100 adolescents and peer-educators from Bhola got the training for the digital platform; at least 300 adolescent clubs with more than 7000 adolescent members are currently using this digital platform. Members from UNICEF Bangladesh, local NGO members, Riseup Labs members, other media partners, and adolescents attended the program.

Web Feature of Digital Platform For Adolescent

The Result

Adolescents can interact with other adolescent club members to share knowledge and access information, and learn different learning content from this platform. By using this Application, adolescents can discuss various topics in group chat. This Application will also teach AIDS education programs, life skills-based education, etc., on various Bangla and English topics.

Adolescents have been able to use this digital platform appropriately. Also, they are learning different content and are very excited about using this platform. They are benefited from using this platform. In the future, by using this Application, adolescents will be able to protect themselves from any hostility and help them become aware of this.