[LUM#3] Solidarity 2.0
What if your phone could help you rediscover close relationships and mutual support with those around you? That's the ambitious goal of the creators of the community app EyesHelp.
At first glance, nothing seemed to predestine Marc Nguyen and Olivier Mazières for a career in new technologies. The two friends are dentists and former students of the Faculty of Dentistry in Montpellier. But one day, Olivier's father came face to face with burglars in his home, who then fled. He wanted to warn all the residents in his neighborhood about the threat, but didn't know how to go about it...
"We live in a hyper-connected world, we have 'friends' all over the planet, but we don't know how to reach our neighbors when we need help," laments Marc Nguyen. The two friends then had an idea: to create a community app to connect us with those around us and make our daily lives safer. That's how EyesHelp was born. Are you feeling unwell in an isolated place? Have you witnessed an accident? Have you lost your cat in the neighborhood? EyesHelp allows you to alert people nearby.
Civility and kindness
To"breathe new life into local relationships," Marc Nguyen is counting on"everyone's civic spirit and kindness." How does that work in practice? The app geolocates the person who sends an alert and sends a message to the phones of "helpers" who are nearby and can provide assistance or call for help if necessary. With nearly 2,000 helpers signed up in just a few months, the app seems to have found its audience.
The next goal for Marc Nguyen and his colleagues at Gamox is to offer partnerships to local authorities. "EyesHelp is a good way for municipalities to stay in touch with their residents, for example to report roadworks or incidents on public roads." But it is also useful for emergency services, which can receive alerts sent via the app and respond more quickly in the event of an incident.
"Beyond the notion of emergency, we want to reconnect people with each other and ensure that everyone pays a little more attention to their neighbors." In other words, we should look up from our phones a little more? "Exactly! In fact, if the app really achieves its goal, then we won't need it anymore."
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