RightsCon Toronto 2018

Internet shutdowns have become rampant across Africa. Activists are often shut out from reaching the masses with vital information and vice versa. At the same time, mobile penetration across the continent continues to soar with increasing coverage. In Interactive Voice Response (IVR) lies a solution to reach people while transcending the barriers of language, literacy and logistics for citizens across the continent. IVR is a cost-effective means of high volume 2-way communication in low-resource settings.

This session will walk participants through what IVR is, how it works and successful use cases from across sub-Saharan Africa. Participants will be able learn how to set up an IVR campaign to send and receive information across mobile networks in order to continue research, activism and advocacy.