Johanna Figueira: Simple, effective tech to connect communities in crisis | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Zoe Chang

I'm an immigrant from Venezuela,

我是來自委內瑞拉的移民，

and I've lived in the US for six years.

已經在美國住了六年。

If you ask me about my life as an expatriate,

若你問我異鄉的生活如何，

I would say that I've been lucky.

我會說我很幸運，

But it hasn't been easy.

儘管並非事事如意。

Growing up, I never thought that I was going to leave my homeland.

成長過程中，我從未想過 有天會離開家鄉。

I participated in my first student protest in 2007,

2007 年我第一次 參加學生街頭抗爭，

when the president shut down one of the most important news networks.

因為當時的總統下令關閉 最重要的新聞媒體網路。

I was getting my bachelor's degree in communications,

我那時在大學念大眾傳播，

and that was the first time I realized I couldn't take free speech for granted.

那是我初次了解到，

言論自由原來不是理所當然。

We knew things were getting bad, but we never saw what was coming:

我們知道情況在惡化， 但沒料到後來一連串的：

an economic crisis, infrastructure breaking down,

經濟金融危機、 民生設施停擺、

citywide electrical blackouts,

市區斷電頻傳、

the decline of public health care and shortage of medicines,

健保衰退、醫藥短缺、

disease outbreaks and starvation.

疾病爆發、人民挨餓。

I moved to Canada with my husband in 2013,

2013 年，我和我丈夫搬到加拿大，

and we always thought we'd move back home when the crisis improved.

一直以為危機過後 我們會再搬回去。

But we never did.

但我們始終沒有回去。

Nearly all my childhood friends have left the country,

幾乎所有兒時的朋友也都離開了，

but my parents are still there.

但我的雙親還在那裡。

There have been moments where I've called my mom,

有時，當我打電話回去給我母親，

and I could hear people screaming and crying in the background

我可以聽到電話另一端 街上的催淚彈爆炸聲，

as teargas bombs exploded in the streets.

及人們的尖叫、哀號聲。

And my mom, as if I couldn't hear it, would always tell me,

我母親總是一成不變地， 好像那些聲響不存在似的，

(Speaking Spanish)

（西班牙文）

"We're fine, don't worry."

她說：「我們很好，別擔心。」

But of course, I worry.

但，我怎麼可能不擔心。

It's my parents, and I'm 4,000 miles away.

他們是我的父母， 遠在四千英里外。

Today, I'm just one of more than four million Venezuelans

其實，我只是離鄉背井的 四百萬委內瑞拉人其中之一。

who have left their home country.

A lot of my friends are Venezuelan immigrants,

我的許多朋友也都是委內瑞拉出來的，

and in the last few years,

過去幾年，我們開始發想

we've begun talking about how we could make a difference

有什麼我們能做的， 即使離故鄉這麼遠。

when we live so far away.

That is how Code for Venezuela was born in 2019.

於是「委內瑞拉程式碼」 就在 2019 年誕生了。

It began with a hackathon, because we are experts in tech,

最初從一個駭客松開始， 因為我們都是科技人，

and we thought we could use our tech skills

我們想或許可以發揮我們的所長

to create solutions for people on the ground.

為在地人創造一些解決方案。

But first, we needed to find some experts actually living inside Venezuela

但首先，我們得要找到一些

實際住在委內瑞拉的專家來指導。

to guide us.

We'd see so many other hackathons

因為我們看過太多其他的駭客松，

that came up with wily, ambitious, incredible technological solutions

做出了很多精心設計、 雄心勃勃又出色的軟體，

that sounded great in theory but ultimately failed to work

理論聽起來都很棒，

可是當真正要在目標國家 施行時卻失敗了。

in the actual countries they were intended to help.

Many of us have been living abroad for years,

我們許多人在國外住了數年，

and we are detached from the day-to-day problems

我們已經不是很清楚

在委內瑞拉的人 每天所要面對的問題。

that people are facing in Venezuela.

So we turned to the experts actually living inside of the country.

所以我們向真正住在 當地的專家求助。

For example, Julio Castro,

比如，胡利歐•卡斯楚醫師，

a doctor and one of the leaders of Médicos por la Salud.

他是「醫療保健網」領導人之一。

When the government stopped publishing official health care data in 2015,

2015 年，當政府停止發佈 健康保健的官方資料後，

Dr. Julio began collecting information himself,

胡利歐醫生組織了一個非官方、

using an informal but coordinated system

協調運作良好的手機通報系統， 開始收集相關資訊。

of cell phone communications.

They track available personnel, medical supplies, mortality data,

其中包含醫療人員、藥物、器材、

死亡率、疾病爆發等資訊；

disease outbreaks;

compile it into a report;

將之匯編成報告， 在推特上分享。

and then share that on Twitter.

He became our go-to expert on health care in Venezuela.

講到委內瑞拉醫療保健， 他是我們的在地專家。

Luis Carlos Díaz,

再來，路易•斯卡羅斯•迪亞茲，

a widely recognized journalist who reports acts of censorship

一位廣為人知的記者，

專注報導委內瑞拉的 審查制度及人權侵犯。

and human rights violations suffered by the people of Venezuela,

he helps us make sense of what is happening there,

他主要協助我們了解事情的真相，

since the news is controlled by the government.

因為新聞都是政府在掌控。

We call these people our heroes on the ground.

我們稱這些人為在地英雄。

With their expert advice, we came up with a series of challenges

有了他們的專業建議，

for hackathon participants.

我們提出一系列的挑戰 給駭客松的參賽者。

In that first hackathon, we had 300 participants

第一場駭客松共有 來自七個國家，三百人參加，

from seven countries

come up with 16 different project submissions.

總共提出了十六個不同的計畫。

We picked the projects with the most potential

我們挑出其中最有潛力的，

and continued working on them after the event.

在賽後繼續發展。

Today, I'll share two of our most successful projects

今天我要分享 其中兩個最成功的計畫，

to give you a taste of the impact we are having so far.

讓大家看看我們目前的成果。

They're called MediTweet and Blackout Tracker.

分別是「醫療推特」 和「停電追蹤器」。

MediTweet is an intelligent Twitter bot

醫療推特是個智慧推特機器人，

that helps Venezuelans find the medicine they need.

它能協助委內瑞拉人民 找到他們需要的藥物。

Right now in Venezuela,

現在，在委內瑞拉，

if you get sick and you go to a hospital,

如果你生病去求醫，

there is a good chance they won't have the right medical supplies to treat you.

醫院也不見得有 治療你疾病所需的醫材。

The situation is so bad

情況惡劣到

that patients often get a "shopping list" from the doctor

醫生通常會給病人 一張「購物清單」，

instead of a prescription.

而不是處方簽。

I live the need for this firsthand.

關於這個我有親身經驗。

My mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2015.

2015 年，我母親被診斷出癌症。

She needed to have a lumbar puncture

她需要做腰椎穿刺，

to get a final diagnosis and treatment plan.

醫生才能確診 並訂定治療計畫。

But the needle for this procedure wasn't available.

但醫院沒有做穿刺所需的針。

I was in Venezuela at that time,

當時我人在委內瑞拉，

and I was seeing my mom getting worse in front of me every day.

我每天看著母親的情況越來越糟。

After looking everywhere, we found the needle in a site

我們找了很久， 終於在網路上找到了，

that is like the eBay of Latin America.

那個網站就像是拉丁美洲的 eBay。

I met the seller in a local bakery,

我跟賣家約在附近的麵包店，

and it was like buying something on the black market.

好像在黑市買東西一樣。

My mom brought the needle to her doctor, and he did the procedure.

我母親把針帶去給醫生， 醫生進行了手術。

Without this, she could have died.

沒有那根針，她早就不在了。

But it's not just medical supplies,

但不僅是醫材，藥品也是如此。

it's medicines, too.

When she was first diagnosed,

她剛確診時，

we bought her treatment in a state pharmacy,

我們還能在公家藥房 買到她所需的藥品。

and it was, like, practically free.

也不用花什麼錢。

But then the state pharmacy ran out,

可是當公家藥房存貨用完，

and we still had six months of treatment ahead.

我母親還有六個月的療程。

Six months of treatment ahead.

六個月的療程。

We bought some medicines online and the rest in Mexico.

我們在網路上買到一些藥， 剩下的從墨西哥買。

Now she's in her third year of remission,

目前她正處於緩解的第三年，

and every time that I call,

每次我打電話去，

she tells me, "I'm fine, don't worry."

她就會告訴我： 「我很好，別擔心。」

But not everyone can afford to leave the country,

但並非人人都有辦法 離開委內瑞拉，

and many aren't healthy enough to travel.

許多人的健康狀況也無法旅行。

That is why people turn to Twitter,

那就是為什麼人民會轉向推特，

buying and selling medicines using the hashtag #ServicioPublico,

用「#ServicioPublico」 來買賣藥品，

meaning "public service."

這個標籤是「公共服務」。

Our Twitter bot scans Twitter for the hashtag #ServicioPublico

這個推特機器人能掃瞄 #ServicioPublico，

and connects users who are asking for specific medicines

將那些搜尋特定藥品的使用者

with those who are selling their private leftovers.

和販賣私人用剩 藥品的賣家連結起來。

We also pool the location data of those Twitter users

我們再把這些推特 用戶的地點資料統合，

and use it for a visualization tool.

做成一個視覺化的工具。

It gives local organizations like Médicos por la Salud

類似「保健醫生」的在地組織，

a sense of where they have a shortage.

能一看就知道什麼地方缺少什麼。

We can also apply machine learning algorithms

我們也將機器學習演算法

to detect clusters of disease.

運用在偵測疾病發生的區域，

If they've received humanitarian aid,

以及當地是否有援助物資，

this could help them to make better decisions

這個工具可以協助有關單位

在補給品的分配上 做出更好的決策。

about the distributions of the supplies.

Our second project, is called Blackout Tracker.

我們的第二個計畫 叫做「停電追蹤器」，

Venezuela is currently going through an electricity crisis.

目前，委內瑞拉正值電力危機。

Last year, Venezuela suffered what some people consider

去年委內瑞拉的斷電次數多到

有些人說是有史以來最慘的一年。

the worst power failures in Venezuelan history.

I had two long days without communication with my parents.

我有足足兩天無法和我父母通訊。

Some cities experienced blackouts every day.

有些城市天天停電。

But you only know about this on social media.

但這些只能在社群媒體上看到。

The government won't report blackouts on the news.

因為政府不會在新聞上報導停電。

When the power goes out,

現在一斷電，委內瑞拉人 就趕快打開手機，

many Venezuelans, we quickly tweet out the location with the hashtag #SinLuz,

用推特發出「SinLuz」標籤 及其所在位置，

meaning "without electricity,"

這標籤的意思是「沒電」，

before their phones ran out of battery,

當然是在手機電池還有電時，

so people around the country know what is happening.

這樣全國各地的人 都知道哪裡斷電。

Like MediTweet,

就像醫療推特，

Blackout Tracker scans Twitter for the hashtag #SinLuz

停電追蹤器掃瞄推特， 找出 #SinLuz 標籤，

and creates a map using the location data of those users.

把使用者的地點做成一張地圖。

You can quickly see

你能一眼看到

where the blackouts are happening today

今天哪些地方停電，

and how many blackouts have happened over time.

以及某特定時段 總共斷電了幾次。

People want to know what is happening,

人民有知的權利，

and this is our answer.

我們提供辦法。

But it's also a way of holding the government accountable.

同時，這些資訊也能作為依據，

It's easy for them to deny that the problem exists

以前政府很輕易就能否認問題的存在，

or make excuses,

或是找藉口塘塞，

because there is no official data on it.

因為沒有官方數據。

Blackout Tracker shows how bad the problem really is.

現在有了停電追蹤器， 則可呈現出問題的嚴重性。

Now, some people in Silicon Valley may look at these projects

當然有些矽谷人 可能會覺得這些計畫

and say that there are no major technological innovations.

好像沒什麼重大的技術創新。

But that is the point.

可是，那正是重點。

These projects are not insanely advanced,

這些計畫雖然不是超級先進，

but it's what the people of Venezuela need,

卻是委內瑞拉人民需要的，

and they can have a tremendous impact.

對生活有巨大影響的。

Beyond these projects, perhaps our most significant accomplishment

除此之外，我們最大的成就

is that a movement has been created,

或許是開始一項運動，

one where people around the world are coming together

一個將世界各地的人集結在一起，

to use their professional skills to create solutions for the people of Venezuela.

運用專業技，幫委內瑞拉人民 創造出一些解決方案。

And because we are partnering with locals,

同時，因為與當地人合作，

we are creating the solutions that people want and need.

我們做出來的是人民 想要、需要的解決方案。

What is so great about this

更棒的一點是，

is that we are using our professional skills,

我們用的是本身的專業技能，

so it comes easily and naturally.

所以做來得心應手，

It's not that hard for us to make a difference.

輕輕鬆鬆就發揮了影響力。

If someone from San Francisco

今天假設在舊金山，

were to hire professionals to create solutions

有人想聘請專業人士 開發出醫療推特

like MediTweet or Blackout Tracker,

或停電追蹤器 這類解決方案，

it would cost a small fortune.

可得花一筆不小的錢。

By donating our services,

我們只是提供自身的技能，

we are making a bigger impact than if we were just to donate money.

發揮的影響力卻比純粹捐錢還大。

And you can do the same thing --

各位同樣也能做到——

not in Venezuela, necessarily,

不一定是委內瑞拉，

but in your own community.

而是貢獻給你自己的社會。

In a world that is more connected than ever,

現今世界似乎比以往更緊密相連，

we still see how specialized communities can be living isolated or in silos.

但仍有許多處於偏僻 或封閉角落的社群，

There are so many great ways to help,

只要我們願意就能伸出援手。

but I believe that you can use your professional skills

我也相信，你們可以 運用本身的專業技能

to connect diverse communities and create effective solutions

將不同社群的資源串聯起來，

創造出有效的解決方案。

through those relationships.

Anyone with knowledge and professional skills

任何一個有知識、 有專業技能的人，

has a powerful force to bring hope to a community.

都有強大的力量 能帶給社會希望。

For us at Code for Venezuela,

對我們「委內瑞拉程式碼」而言，

this is just the beginning.

這還只是開端。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）