Speaking Books Scoop Silver Medal for World Health Literacy Innovation
1; Prime Minister of Barbados, The Honorable David Thompson presenting CAPAM Award for Innovation to Zane Wilson creator of
the Speaking Book 2; Health Care Workers discussing the Speaking Book on HIV and AIDS with outreach trainer 3; Example of a
Speaking Book - one of 24 different titles and in 12 different languages
At the recently concluded CAPAM Conference in Barbados, the Speaking Book
was awarded the silver prize in a competition for international innovation open to
all members of the 53 Commonwealth countries and representing 1.9 billion
people. CAPAM, the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and
Management holds a biennial conference attended by heads of government and
senior public servants to promote the practical requirements of good
governance.
An integral part of the Conference is the prestigious CAPAM award judged from
over 140 entries and selected on stringent criteria including Effectiveness
requiring that sufficient time has passed to demonstrate positive results,
Innovation in that it must be unique and genuinely innovative, Significance in that
significant benefits have been clearly established, Replicability and Appropriate
to local economic conditions.
This Award confirms that the Speaking Book is now well proven and
has already revolutionized health communication with people who are unable to
read. Low levels of literacy is a worldwide problem and severely reduces the
effectiveness of any literature distributed to millions in need of health care
education. Furthermore, many of the conference delegates immediately
recognized the impact and potential of the Speaking Book for their own citizens,
with Uganda taking the initiative and requesting a local in country presentation in
a weeks time.
The Speaking Book combines the latest sound chip technology featuring a sound
track read by well-known local celebrities in the local language, with a durable
laminated hard backed book, to take the reader on a step-by-step guide to
wellness.
Each ‘Speaking Book’ consists of 16 pages of colorful illustrations supported by
straightforward and easy to understand text. For each page there is a
corresponding push button that triggers a sound track of the text, so no matter
the level of reading comprehension, the information will be seen, read, heard and
understood with powerful results.
The Speaking Book allows patients to listen to the messages and learn at their
own speed in the privacy of their own homes in the absence of trained support
that is not always available in remote areas. These books allow information to be
disseminated to even the poorest and most isolated communities.
This innovative educational tool was created in South Africa in partnership with
SADAG, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, to design and produce
interactive, multilingual Speaking Books that can be understood by the reader
regardless of their reading ability. Initially produced to meet an African need,
Books of Hope is now established in the USA to serve the American and
International markets with Speaking Books.
Following the launch of Speaking Books in 2005, we have created 24 different
books in 12 different languages covering a range of subjects from TB, Malaria
and HIV/AIDS to OVC, Suicide, Teen Sexual Awareness, Government Grants and
Clinical Trials for numerous clients and sponsors such as AED, Bayer, BASF, The
World Bank, USAID, European Union, Global Fund, World Vision, Eli Lilly,
Sanofi~Aventis, SA Dept of Health, Merck and Pfizer.
You Tube created for CAPAM Award http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkhmWN6z3P4
For further information please contact;
Brian M Julius | Books of Hope LLC
T: 1- 843-589-9029 | C: 1- 843-298-1017
bj@booksofhope.com | www.booksofhope.com
Speaking Books for Low Literacy Health Care