U.S. innovation drives the world. And U.S. assistance enables creative solutions to overcome local challenges.
The United States is a global leader in research and development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It offers unparalleled opportunities for quality education and business. Data transparency and the rule of law—core U.S. values—foster an open environment with space to create and
innovate.
Even U.S. foreign policy reflects this spirit of innovation. Through programs and mobile apps, the U.S. Department of State offers new ways to celebrate diversity, monitor the environment, protect cultural heritage, and even combat misinformation.
ZephAir, the Air Quality App
ZephAir provides reliable real-time data on air quality in cities around the world. Users receive location-specific recommendations to reduce exposure to air pollution, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. ZephAir collects data from monitoring stations at over 70 U.S. embassies, consulates, and partner organizations. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing began monitoring and reporting the city’s air quality in 2008, which eventually led the Chinese government to strengthen air quality monitoring standards.
Smart Devices for Inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important components of U.S. policy at home and abroad. In the world of apps, designing smart devices with accessibility in mind has a real impact.
In Armenia, the Department of State sponsors the development of Let’s Talk, a new app to help people with speech disabilities communicate independently. The first of its kind in Armenian, the app will allow users to easily form sentences using a combination of text and images on their device. Press a button, and the app transforms everything into spoken audio.
An Armenian speech therapist is designing the app in partnership with an American teacher she met while participating in the Fulbright exchange program in the United States. They presented their project proposal in a global funding competition in 2021 and won a grant from the Department of State to develop the app.
Tomb Raiders, Not Looters
Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, fictional characters you may know from video games and adventure films, compete to find treasures before villains can steal or destroy them.
In real life, the trafficking of stolen or counterfeit art and cultural property is a major problem. It benefits transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups, erodes the legal art market, and harms international relations. At the local level, trafficking and the subsequent loss of cultural heritage also threaten economic livelihoods tied to the tourism sector.
Through bilateral cultural property agreements (PDF, 480 KB), the Department of State partners with countries to protect important cultural objects and prevent trafficking.
To raise awareness of the need to protect cultural heritage in innovative ways, the Department of State and Global Game Jam Inc. launched a global video game development competition (“game jam”) in 2021. Game jams democratize problem-solving and mobilize youth to work together toward a common goal.
A 2021 awards ceremony at the U.S. Pavilion at World Expo 2020 Dubai
recognized 116 international teams for submitting video game prototypes that incorporated narratives related to the protection of cultural heritage. The winning team—with members from Iran, Peru, and Sweden—designed the game Purunmachu. The game is set in the ancient culture of the Chachapoyas people in the Andes mountains of Peru. Players explore the rainforest and face the dilemma of taking sacred objects for themselves or preserving them for the future.
The team won the chance to participate and present their game at the 2022 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. (You can play their game and all the games from the Cultural Heritage Game Jam for free!)
Combating Misinformation
Developers are also designing video games to educate players about another global threat: misinformation. The online game Harmony Square helps players recognize and resist common misinformation tactics that malicious actors use to undermine democratic institutions and social trust.
The Dutch company DROG and the University of Cambridge developed Harmony Square with funding from the Departments of State and Homeland Security. It was nominated for two awards at the 2021 Games for Change festival: Most Significant Impact and Best Learning Game. (You can play Harmony Square for free in English or in 10 other languages.)
Source: share.america.gov, By Amirah Ismail