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Android app brings human touch to social issues

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Twelve-year-old Navya Joshi earned just two points in the new quiz gaming app 'Awarathon' that she downloaded, but has got a wealth of information in the bargain. Launched on Dec 17 on google play, 'Awarathon' is a quiz gaming app based on social causes. There are five causes which players can take quizzes on, and each cause is supported by an NGO working in that field. The causes include those of women empowerment, underprivileged children, disabilities, sports development and animal welfare.

Available for free on the play store, the app supports single as well as networked quizzing. The top three scorers per cause will receive incentives from the NGO affiliated with the cause.

This app is the maiden initiative of Madatt foundation, a not-for-profit organisation for spreading awareness. "We wanted to raise awareness about social issues among the age group of 12 to 30 years and get them interested in doing something for society. From surveys we found that seven out of 10 urban children own a smartphone, and an app was the best way to reach them," said Harshal Shah, co-founder of Madatt.

Shah added, "While growing up, we are only exposed to the corporate way of functioning. With this app, besides learning about causes they care for, children can involve themselves with the NGO. We want to say that working for an NGO is also a viable career option."

Shah, an international tax lawyer and a graduate from Harvard law school, opened Madatt with his wife Bhargavi Zaveri, also a Harvard law alumnus. Their core team consists of six professionals.

The Akshara foundation has helped with the quiz on women's empowerment. Its co-director Nandita Shah said, "The questions on women's issues range from landmark judgements, movements and laws; and the app allows young people to know more. There are no apps on social awareness and quizzing is a fashion among young people today. They compete with each other and through points they say that they know more about a certain issue than their friend."

Other NGOs associated with the app are Teach for India, National Society for Equal Opportunity for the Handicapped (NASEOH), World for All, and Kalyandas sports foundation.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Navya, a sixth-grader, gave the animal welfare quiz out of a passion for animals. She said, "I did not know that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber adopted a dog but I saw this question on the app. I love animals and maybe I will adopt stray dogs in future. It's a good educational app and I learned a lot."

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