Leer Zelf Online adds accessible week planner to corona.steffie.nl

Steffie explains corona

"Shortly after the first press conference about the coronavirus, it was clear that lot of people were bewildered by the information that was coming out, especially all the jargon it included," recalls Jacques. "We felt that something needed to be done as a matter of urgency: crucial information about a major public health crisis should be communicated in a way that everyone can understand. So we immediately contacted the relevant government ministry and a number of politicians. We wanted both to emphasise the urgency of the situation and to pitch the idea of setting up the corona.steffie.nl website. It took a few months, but the issue was eventually picked up by parliament, and we got the green light to go ahead with the initiative on the government's behalf."

"Corona.steffie.nl is a website where our avatar Steffie gives government information about the coronavirus crisis in a way that's easy to follow," Jacques continues. Steffie is a key feature of Leer Zelf Online. She's used to make a range of difficult topics understandable; not only the coronavirus, but also internet banking, voting, and claiming benefits. Steffie reads out the information, and the user can adjust the speed of the explanation to suit themselves. "The great thing about Steffie is that she explains things in a neutral way, that everyone can understand," explains Jacques. "So vulnerable people can develop informed opinions or get a clear picture of what's happening, the same as everyone else. That has the effect of reducing their anxiety and uncertainty levels -- in this case, with regard to the coronavirus. On the website corona.steffie.nl, we tell people about the virus, quarantine, vaccinations, the government's contact tracing app and other topics, all in ten different languages. Before it goes up on the site, all the written and visual content is tested on our diverse focus groups. Anything that turns out to be confusing is removed. And we have a lawyer who reviews the final versions to make sure that they're correct and cover everything that they need to cover. The whole site design is aimed at accessibility: simple and functional, with strong visual contrast."

Plan your week with Steffie

"We recently developed an important extension to the corona.steffie.nl website: a planner called 'Plan Your Week'," says Jacques. "It was an idea we came up with after seeing how much impact the pandemic was having on many people's daily lives. Ordinary recreational activities and the associated routines were seriously disrupted, and structure is extremely important to vulnerable people. So we've built a site at planjeweek.steffie.nl, where you can easily make a list of the things you want to do each day, from when you get up to when you go to bed. After making your plan, you can print it or download it. We're now working on a week planner app, which will be available for free from the App Store and Google Play." The smartphone app will give the user notifications whenever it's time to move on to the next activity. And no data will be stored by the app, ensuring complete privacy and security.

Support from SIDN Fund

"We responded to SIDN Fund's Internet against Corona call and were rewarded with a grant that's enabled us to develop the planner and add it to corona.steffie," says Jacques. "It's an important extension, for which there's a real need, especially amongst the more vulnerable members of our society. It was because of the Fund's financial support that we were able to develop the associated app as well." LZO had previously benefited indirectly from SIDN Fund's support for a voter support tool featuring Steffie.

SIDN Fund's CEO Valerie Frissen says, "We organised the Internet against Corona call in spring 2020, with the aim of identifying projects that could make a real difference in the face of the challenges presented by the pandemic. And that's exactly what this project has done. LZO responded quickly to the urgent problem of how to make vital information available to vulnerable groups in an accessible form. Many of us find some of the information that's circulating difficult to follow, and for vulnerable people it's harder still. In the Netherlands, the Steffie avatar now plays a central role in communicating key information to vulnerable groups in a way that they can process. SIDN Fund's support has made it possible to use Steffie both during the recent elections and throughout the ongoing crisis. We're thrilled that the Fund has been able to play a part in getting these successful initiatives off the ground."

Leisure activity planning platform

"My big ambition is to make corona.steffie.nl and the week planner part of a broader leisure activity planning platform. I envisage linking other LZO initiatives, such as ABCDate, to the platform as well. ABCDate is a platform where people with mental disabilities can safely and freely make contact with others. Integration would result in a free service that enables people to independently plan their leisure activities for the week ahead. As well as fun activities, such as visiting the Open Air Museum and ABCDate events, users could arrange less agreeable things, such as dental appointments. The idea is to give vulnerable people a safe, low-stress way of arranging things they need to do and things they can look forward to. At the same time, we would be helping venues such as museums improve their accessibility by, for example, presenting information about what they can offer in a way that's suitably formatted and easy to understand. With the ultimate goal of enabling everyone to participate in our society," concludes Jacques.

Want to know more about this initiative? Visit https://corona.steffie.nl/ or contact Leer Zelf Online by calling +31 348 743 272 or mailing info@leerzelfonline.nl.