Targetting China and Vietnam, iDOPT hopes to use gamification to educate children, and in doing so protect endangered animals
iDopt Founder and CEO Sandor Weyers
Something epic just dropped on the app store.
iDopt is a Hong Kong-based wildlife education and adoption iPhone app that is aimed at establishing an emotional connection between children and a cause.
The LITE version, released on World Rhino Day this week, is trying to secure 10,000 downloads — at which point the team will translate the app into Chinese and share it with kids in China.
Sandor Weyers, the CEO of iDOPT, shared his vision:
“To increase awareness of issues like animal poaching on the other side of the world, reaching millions of kids worldwide, especially in China and Vietnam.”
Their end goal is to use the app to raise millions of dollars for conservation and to support local communities surrounding wildlife.
Weyers has already established an ecotourism and wildlife conservation travel company, and he is a big believer in empowering children to make a difference.
“We are first focusing on rhino conservation, and soliciting feedback from our subscribers on how the design can be improved before the final release. It will then be very easy to scale this up to cover other species,” he said.
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The team decided on finding a tech solution to solve the problem as they felt it was the best way to reach kids and educate them. Plus through a mobile app, it will be easier to scale to other species and to other causes.
By using gamification, the kids will love the games and quizzes, which includes score ranking for a little healthy competition. Ultimately it will help educate kids on wildlife conservation in a fun and playful way.
“The iDOPT wildlife education app provides a closer, more engaging connection between a donor and a wildlife cause through fresh, visual content and storytelling straight to your mobile phone. It tests your wildlife knowledge and rewards you with rare wildlife badges,” said Weyers.
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Other conservationists are also turning to technology as the situations around the world become more extreme.
Right now there are less than 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the world, and organisations like the Borneo Rainforest Alliance are struggling to keep the last 3 remaining in Malaysia alive. They have even turned to technology to try increase the population by trying to create a Sumatran rhino embryo in a lab.
Many people get into tech with the ideal of changing the world, so it’s important to highlight companies like iDopt that are doing their part.
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To learn more about Eco issues in Asia, come to the Singapore Eco Film Festival happening November 10th-13th. Visit www.SGEFF.com for more details.
Copyright: byrdyak / 123RF Stock Photo
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