App Earth Alert : first prize by the Editors Lab Final in Barcelona

France 24 and RFI are proposing a free mobile application called “Earth Alert” (the Android version is our prototype).

Project management :

Steven Jambot , journalist)
Emmanuelle Nicolas (Designer)
Alaeddine Ouertani (Developper).

Our concept is based on crowdsourcing, meaning that users are the source of information. Members of the general public are invited to submit alerts – what we call an “Earth Alert” – over a sustainable development concern in their country, city, town or village. These Earth Alerts are divided into three categories: economic issues, social issues and environmental issues.

Our proposed mobile application classifies Earth Alerts by those that are 1) latest, 2) rising in number and 3) the top concern. A map highlights the areas from where the alerts have been sent.

Users can take a photo or video and send us their content with a brief description of the problem. They share their Earth Alert via social media and collect votes (or ‘likes’). After a certain number of votes and alerts, journalists from France 24 and RFI visit the area to do an in-depth report on the problem and bring it to a wider global audience.

The app could conceivably extend to partnerships with other news organizations, online petition tools or host sponsored campaigns for NGOs.