Mother Tongues is a proposal for an open source network addressing migrant communities’ lack of language skills by broadcasting translations from multiple languages to English,accessible through any smartphone.
It started as an implementation of current phrasebooks being distributed in refugee camps to facilitate communication in the absence of interpreters, aiming to turn them into a service that can address the same issue when asylum seekers leave camps to settle in European cities.
In times of migration crisis, it aims to facilitate communication in emergency situations as much as fostering social inclusion while accomplishing daily life tasks. It also empowers individuals to contribute to the social good of their local community, by using cheap tech, off-the-shelf components and an open source infrastructure.
Translations would be accessible as content broadcasted by media wi-fi servers scattered around the city and readable through any smartphone - just connecting to an open wi-fi, without need for internet or apps. Basic unit is a "tongue", a local wi-fi media server, consisting of an open source single board computer (Raspberry pi) connected to a SD card, a wi-fi dongle and a USB charger. Tongues can be placed in specific locations where migrants are required to interact with locals, without an interpreter, using specific vocabulary. Asking for directions at a train station, enquiring about their rights with a lawyer, describing their symptoms to a doctor. Given the open source nature of the project, the interface displayed on a smartphone connected to any "tongue wifi" allows to browse existing translations as much as adding new ones. Tailoring the service to the needs of the community using it.