Can you solve this?

The activist organization Can You Solve This? is using QR codes to raise awareness for education inequality in Iran. The grassroots initiative, launched in Berlin Saturday, is spreading QR codes on stickers, t-shirts and posters to attract people to the campaign.

"You really need to stand out to make an impact on students, and this really appeals to our audience without saying 'sign this' and 'sign that,'" says campaign organizer Esra'a Al Shafei of Bahrain.

The campaign's message, Can You Solve This?, has a double meaning. The first element is for people to "solve" the code's meaning by scanning it. The second part asks people around the world to join together to fix the problem of educational inequality in Iran.

"Normally with human rights campaigns people are overdosed," says Ruha Reyhani, an organizer from Berlin. "Because this appears like a riddle, people feel inticed to participate"

The site directs users to take four steps: Scan the image, watch a video, mail a letter to an official and then share the campaign with their social following. The website includes form letters to send to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Navanethem Pillay, or German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle.

Following the launch in Berlin, the movement quickly spread to Cologne and Hamburg. The QR code has already been traced to Africa, Mexico, Afghanistan, the UK and the U.S.

Organizations from Iran, the Netherlands, Germany, the Middle East and individuals have joined forces to end what the organization calls a systematic discrimination of students.

Reyhani claims the Iranian government has discriminated against students, particularly of the Baha'i faith, a group of 300,000 people. She claims students are often prevented from registering for classes, restricted from taking exams or rejected from universities. In May, the Baha'i Higher Education Institute, an online university set up by the Baha'i community for students excluded from the mainstream system, was shut down.

"The Baha'i are systematically excluded," says Elise Auerbach, the Iran Country Specialist for Amnesty International. "They dont have the opportunity to go to university and get an education."

In addition to minorities, students known for activism in politics, women's issues or human rights are often removed from the education system. The Iranian government began enforcing gender quotas to reduce the ratio of women in universities.

Do you think QR codes are an innovative way to engage people in a human rights campaign? Let us know if the comments.

http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/qr-code-iran/

Category:

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[SheyhAmir]

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