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Youth devise winning solution at Leadership Conference |01 December 2017

 

 

Following the recent ‘Leadership We Want’ conference organised by the Seychelles Mandela Washington Fellows Alumni in collaboration with the United States embassy at the Eden Bleu Hotel, the Seychelles NATION spoke to Kalsey Belle, a member of the team that won the workshop’s hackathon competition to learn about their winning project – a health promotion app designed specifically for use in Seychelles.

The conference which congregated a number of leaders and potential leaders in Seychelles, placed the hackathon’s participants into five groups and each one was asked to devise innovative ways of resolving issues within a particular category to create the leadership they would like to see.

Kalsey’s team, moderated by Dr Naomi Ferguson, was allocated the Social Affairs & Health category. The group comprised a number of youth from various backgrounds, including education and engineering to allow for more innovative ideas from different vantage points. It was only the groups’ moderators who had qualifications, experience and training relating to their respective categories.

The main objective of the team’s idea for a health promotion app was to help resolve issues relating to healthcare resources which would primarily benefit the local population as well as the Ministry of Health, among others.

Key features of the app included reminders for regular medical check-ups such as pap smears. These reminders would also prompt and enable users to book their appointments online. In addition to being offered in three languages (English, French & Creole), the app would also offer real time updates, daily/weekly motivational quotes and links to videos.

According to Kalsey, such an app would bring value to members of the public by:

-           Reducing waiting times in clinics

-           Helping to maintain a healthier lifestyle

-           Educating about various health matters

-           Providing a platform for health forums/discussions.

In their presentation, the group also explained that the app would create opportunities for public partnerships. For example, app users could avail of loyalty points from various types of businesses such as supermarkets and telecommunication companies.

Additionally, the said app would provide the Ministry of Health with important data which, according to Kalsey, would be less biased since users would be able to input their information anonymously.

The concept of the app was well received by the audience present at the conference as well as the members of the jury. Kalsey feels that this can be attributed to the fact that their team pitched their idea as a product for investors and focused on one solution as opposed to numerous ones.     

Kalsey explains that through such an activity, participants of the competition were able to not only identify problems that exist in various sectors, but to be more solution-oriented and accountable.

She adds that when you are placed in the shoes of leaders, you learn to better appreciate the challenges that are being faced.

 

 

 

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