Arabic Digital Reform Institute

By Ali Mazraeh

NZ $330 pledged


8 people pledged


Closed


NZ $20,000 minimum target


1 1% Complete

This campaign failed to reach its target by 03/07/2017 at 7:00 PM (NZST) and is now closed.

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About

Arabic Digital Reform Institute

Project 2017-05-18 11:21:25 +1200

What is ADRI?

The Arabic Digital Reform Institute ("ADRI") is a social enterprise technological company that seeks to improve access to Arabic academic content online. Our vision is to revolutionise academic traditions in the Middle East, allowing scholars to share their knowledge globally.

Why are we needed?

Despite being spoken by approximately 300 million people, the Arabic language is badly represented online. A recent report by the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU") estimated that Arabic content represents a mere 3% of total global content published online.

The real problem for the approximately 8.5 million Arabic academics and students in the Middle East region is the lack of accesibility to Arabic scholarly content. Arabic academia is not being published online, and what sparse content exists online is difficult to access. Therefore, there is a significant digital knowledge gap that is stunting the development and sharing of Arabic academia which was once the cradle of civilisation. 

ADRI will offer the solution to this problem through its core services: the Platform and the Repository as a Service ("RAAS"). The RAAS is a turn-key solution that assists universities to classify, index, and store their scholarly content in an internal database. The Platform is a tool for connecting each universities' Repositories. It functions as an easy to use search engine that will allow academics and students to share their academic content while also accessing other scholarly content for research purposes.

What are we crowdfunding for?

We have spent the past 3 years developing our prototype, perfecting our business case and creating a network of local and international supporters. We now need to raise $20,000 to hire technical developers to refine our Platform prototype to make it ready for market. This is the first step in launching our product, which we will aim to have fully available for subscription to the public by late 2018.

If we raise more than $20,000, we intend to use the money to travel to the least developed countries in the region to meet with prospective client universities to present our services and explain how they will solve their content sharing issues.

What will you get in return?

By pledging you are supporting a Wellington based social enterprise tech company that is seeking to improve access to education in the Middle East region. Improving access to education and sharing Arabic academia globally are essential for developing truly global solutions to global problems. 

If that is not enough, then we have suite of rewards that might convince you.

Pledge $20 and receive a shout-out on our Facebook page and your name will live in eternity on our "Supporters" page on our website. You will also receive a 1 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

Pledge $50 and receive a personalised thank you note in Arabic calligraphy. You will also receive a 1 year subscription to ADRI's platform. 

Pledge $100 and reserve a spot to attend a Arabic Language Masterclass by ADRI's mastero and CEO Ali Mazraeh. Feeling generous? You will also recieve a 1 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

Pledge $200 and receive your very own caricature by Iranian international artist Emad Sulehi. With this pledge you will also receive a 2 year subscription to the ADRI Platform. 

If you're an Arabic academic or student and you are feeling the pain, pledge $300 and receive a five year subscription to ADRI's comprehensive and easy to use Platform.

Feeling extravagant? Why not pledge $3,000 and select a beautiful painting from the catalouge provided by Emad. With this pledge you will also receive a 3 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

   

Fancy something a little unique? Pledge $5,000 and Emad will work with you to develop a personalised painting of your choice. Display it in your lounge and be the envy of the town. With this pledge you will also receive a 3 year subscription to the ADRI Platform. 

Who is behind ADRI

Ali Mazraeh 

Chief Executive Officer

 

An established IT Manager, Ali is equipped with a rich portfolio of technical and business achievements and an excellent track record of service delivery to various clients. With over 10 years’ experience on various professional platforms and niches in information technologies, Ali carries a reliable wealth of knowledge on how to best deliver the technological services ADRI provides, in order to accomplish its vision.

Ali holds a Master in Strategic Studies and his academic passion revolves around the social and political affairs of Middle East and their international implications.

As a refugee from south west of Iran, fleeing ethnic persecution, Ali was resettled in New Zealand in May 2009, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and since has worked hard to create and inspire a bright future for himself and others. 

Dr Safaa Haddad 

Senior Relationship Advisor 

 

Safaa has joined ADRI as its Relationship Advisor. He has a B.Eng and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering obtained from Liverpool University in the UK.  Safaa then went on to teach Telecommunications at the University of Technology in Baghdad and at Malaysia Technical University, before migrating to New Zealand in 1995. Once in New Zealand, he worked for Telecom (now Spark) as a Cellular Engineer, and for BCL (now Kordia) as a Consultant Engineer. Later in 2007, Safaa made a career change by joining the Department of Labour as a Sector Advisor working with the Dairy and the Tourism sectors. He then joined Immigration New Zealand (INZ) as a Business Relationship Advisor in 2010. Safaa has now retired from INZ and enjoys travelling and social interaction

 

 

.

 

Dr Ayman Tawalbeh 

Academic Advisor 

 

 Dr Ayman Tawalbeh holds a PhD in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington. He brings with him a wealth of local and international teaching experience which has facilitated the development of strong interpersonal communication skills and cross-cultural understanding. Ayman is trained to carry out independent research and has published and presented research in the field of Arabic Sociolinguistics and Intercultural Communication at local and international conferences. As an Academic Adviser with ADRI, Ayman brings a passion for and understanding of Arabic language and research and looks forward to working with colleagues in solving key issues related to the accessibility of Arabic research. Ayman has recently collaborated with Wellington Radio Access to establish and present NZ’s first Arabic radio programme. He is also passionate about voluntary work and has been volunteering with Red Cross and English Language Partners in the capacity of helping Syrian refugees settle in Wellington.

Rhiannon Stannard 

Senior Operations Officer 

 

Rhiannon is the Senior Operations Officer at ADRI. Previously, she worked as a Lifeguard in Wellington, where she had her first experience with the Arabic language during the women's only swimming night. This night attracted many Arabic women and she was able to learn a lot about their unique culture. Rhiannon has also done a lot of volunteer work for UN Youth and Commonwealth Youth working with young people on identifying and offering solutions to issues throughout the world from different perspectives. She believes that ADRI is the key to driving social change, and it is this that fuels her passion for the project.  Rhiannon's empathy for those without adequate access to education and academia, and the social consequences of this, was triggered by her studies in law, history and international relations, leading to her involvement in ADRI. 

Yousuf Ahmad 

Business Development Manager 

Yousuf is in his 5th year of a LLB/Bcom degree at Victoria University of Wellington. He is currently assisting ADRI as the Project Manager of the Crowd Funding Campaign, alongside his broader role within the enterprise as the Business Development Manager. Yousuf is passionate about social issues, and accordingly has just finished a 3-year project in the Wellington District Court creating a Welfare Advocacy service. He also has over 3 years’ experience in training and compliance for Microsoft NZ’s consumer retail channels. Yousuf is looking forward to new challenges and using his skills to bring a fresh perspective to the social enterprise model of ADRI. 

 

 Fayez Shahbaz 

Strategic Advisor 

Fayez is in his final year of a double degree in Law and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. Fayez brings a wealth of legal skills and experience to the team, having previously led the Wellington Community Justice Project for several years as its Student Director and summer clerked at Buddle Findlay, one of New Zealand’s leading commercial law firms. Being passionate about social issues and having grown up in the Middle East means Fayez has a special connection to the ADRI project and its vision. He believes ADRI is filling a gap in the community, and is looking forward to assisting ADRI as one of its Strategic Advisers. When he is not working, you’ll find Fayez playing (rather unsuccessfully) football or caught up in the thick of a good book, movie, or TV program.

 

Amelia Bowers 

Executive Assistant 

 

Amelia is in her fifth and final year of an Bachelor of Laws and BA conjoint at Victoria University in Wellington. As an International Relations, Political Science and Religious Studies major, she is particularly interested in the Middle East and the numerous socio-religious and political issues stemming from this region. Amelia was previously a Law Clerk at a Wellington based firm specialising in Constitutional issues and dealt extensively with the Treaty of Waitangi, a role which further inspired her desire to meet social issues domestically and internationally. She is extremely excited to use the knowledge from her studies in a practical way within ADRI, and is currently working on effectively illustrating what ADRI seeks to achieve as a social enterprise. Amelia is also currently learning the Arabic langauge. 

Comments

Updates

Hey! Thanks for checking out this project.

We haven't made any updates yet, follow us if you want to be notified when we do.

Pledgers 8

Katie de Roo
25/06/2017 at 9:23pm
Donnella Weir
05/06/2017 at 7:07pm
Alice Tappenden
05/06/2017 at 2:30pm
Anonymous pledger
05/06/2017 at 11:53am

"I really hope your campaign will be successful. My desire is to see more Arabic content online, especially of the scientific fields"

Rosa
04/06/2017 at 11:35pm
Tayyaba Khan
04/06/2017 at 11:23pm

"Best of luck."

Anonymous pledger
03/06/2017 at 12:49pm
James Thomas
02/06/2017 at 12:46pm

Followers

Followers of Arabic Digital Reform Institute

Arabic Digital Reform Institute

Project 2017-05-18 11:21:25 +1200

What is ADRI?

The Arabic Digital Reform Institute ("ADRI") is a social enterprise technological company that seeks to improve access to Arabic academic content online. Our vision is to revolutionise academic traditions in the Middle East, allowing scholars to share their knowledge globally.

Why are we needed?

Despite being spoken by approximately 300 million people, the Arabic language is badly represented online. A recent report by the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU") estimated that Arabic content represents a mere 3% of total global content published online.

The real problem for the approximately 8.5 million Arabic academics and students in the Middle East region is the lack of accesibility to Arabic scholarly content. Arabic academia is not being published online, and what sparse content exists online is difficult to access. Therefore, there is a significant digital knowledge gap that is stunting the development and sharing of Arabic academia which was once the cradle of civilisation. 

ADRI will offer the solution to this problem through its core services: the Platform and the Repository as a Service ("RAAS"). The RAAS is a turn-key solution that assists universities to classify, index, and store their scholarly content in an internal database. The Platform is a tool for connecting each universities' Repositories. It functions as an easy to use search engine that will allow academics and students to share their academic content while also accessing other scholarly content for research purposes.

What are we crowdfunding for?

We have spent the past 3 years developing our prototype, perfecting our business case and creating a network of local and international supporters. We now need to raise $20,000 to hire technical developers to refine our Platform prototype to make it ready for market. This is the first step in launching our product, which we will aim to have fully available for subscription to the public by late 2018.

If we raise more than $20,000, we intend to use the money to travel to the least developed countries in the region to meet with prospective client universities to present our services and explain how they will solve their content sharing issues.

What will you get in return?

By pledging you are supporting a Wellington based social enterprise tech company that is seeking to improve access to education in the Middle East region. Improving access to education and sharing Arabic academia globally are essential for developing truly global solutions to global problems. 

If that is not enough, then we have suite of rewards that might convince you.

Pledge $20 and receive a shout-out on our Facebook page and your name will live in eternity on our "Supporters" page on our website. You will also receive a 1 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

Pledge $50 and receive a personalised thank you note in Arabic calligraphy. You will also receive a 1 year subscription to ADRI's platform. 

Pledge $100 and reserve a spot to attend a Arabic Language Masterclass by ADRI's mastero and CEO Ali Mazraeh. Feeling generous? You will also recieve a 1 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

Pledge $200 and receive your very own caricature by Iranian international artist Emad Sulehi. With this pledge you will also receive a 2 year subscription to the ADRI Platform. 

If you're an Arabic academic or student and you are feeling the pain, pledge $300 and receive a five year subscription to ADRI's comprehensive and easy to use Platform.

Feeling extravagant? Why not pledge $3,000 and select a beautiful painting from the catalouge provided by Emad. With this pledge you will also receive a 3 year subscription to ADRI's Platform. 

   

Fancy something a little unique? Pledge $5,000 and Emad will work with you to develop a personalised painting of your choice. Display it in your lounge and be the envy of the town. With this pledge you will also receive a 3 year subscription to the ADRI Platform. 

Who is behind ADRI

Ali Mazraeh 

Chief Executive Officer

 

An established IT Manager, Ali is equipped with a rich portfolio of technical and business achievements and an excellent track record of service delivery to various clients. With over 10 years’ experience on various professional platforms and niches in information technologies, Ali carries a reliable wealth of knowledge on how to best deliver the technological services ADRI provides, in order to accomplish its vision.

Ali holds a Master in Strategic Studies and his academic passion revolves around the social and political affairs of Middle East and their international implications.

As a refugee from south west of Iran, fleeing ethnic persecution, Ali was resettled in New Zealand in May 2009, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and since has worked hard to create and inspire a bright future for himself and others. 

Dr Safaa Haddad 

Senior Relationship Advisor 

 

Safaa has joined ADRI as its Relationship Advisor. He has a B.Eng and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering obtained from Liverpool University in the UK.  Safaa then went on to teach Telecommunications at the University of Technology in Baghdad and at Malaysia Technical University, before migrating to New Zealand in 1995. Once in New Zealand, he worked for Telecom (now Spark) as a Cellular Engineer, and for BCL (now Kordia) as a Consultant Engineer. Later in 2007, Safaa made a career change by joining the Department of Labour as a Sector Advisor working with the Dairy and the Tourism sectors. He then joined Immigration New Zealand (INZ) as a Business Relationship Advisor in 2010. Safaa has now retired from INZ and enjoys travelling and social interaction

 

 

.

 

Dr Ayman Tawalbeh 

Academic Advisor 

 

 Dr Ayman Tawalbeh holds a PhD in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington. He brings with him a wealth of local and international teaching experience which has facilitated the development of strong interpersonal communication skills and cross-cultural understanding. Ayman is trained to carry out independent research and has published and presented research in the field of Arabic Sociolinguistics and Intercultural Communication at local and international conferences. As an Academic Adviser with ADRI, Ayman brings a passion for and understanding of Arabic language and research and looks forward to working with colleagues in solving key issues related to the accessibility of Arabic research. Ayman has recently collaborated with Wellington Radio Access to establish and present NZ’s first Arabic radio programme. He is also passionate about voluntary work and has been volunteering with Red Cross and English Language Partners in the capacity of helping Syrian refugees settle in Wellington.

Rhiannon Stannard 

Senior Operations Officer 

 

Rhiannon is the Senior Operations Officer at ADRI. Previously, she worked as a Lifeguard in Wellington, where she had her first experience with the Arabic language during the women's only swimming night. This night attracted many Arabic women and she was able to learn a lot about their unique culture. Rhiannon has also done a lot of volunteer work for UN Youth and Commonwealth Youth working with young people on identifying and offering solutions to issues throughout the world from different perspectives. She believes that ADRI is the key to driving social change, and it is this that fuels her passion for the project.  Rhiannon's empathy for those without adequate access to education and academia, and the social consequences of this, was triggered by her studies in law, history and international relations, leading to her involvement in ADRI. 

Yousuf Ahmad 

Business Development Manager 

Yousuf is in his 5th year of a LLB/Bcom degree at Victoria University of Wellington. He is currently assisting ADRI as the Project Manager of the Crowd Funding Campaign, alongside his broader role within the enterprise as the Business Development Manager. Yousuf is passionate about social issues, and accordingly has just finished a 3-year project in the Wellington District Court creating a Welfare Advocacy service. He also has over 3 years’ experience in training and compliance for Microsoft NZ’s consumer retail channels. Yousuf is looking forward to new challenges and using his skills to bring a fresh perspective to the social enterprise model of ADRI. 

 

 Fayez Shahbaz 

Strategic Advisor 

Fayez is in his final year of a double degree in Law and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. Fayez brings a wealth of legal skills and experience to the team, having previously led the Wellington Community Justice Project for several years as its Student Director and summer clerked at Buddle Findlay, one of New Zealand’s leading commercial law firms. Being passionate about social issues and having grown up in the Middle East means Fayez has a special connection to the ADRI project and its vision. He believes ADRI is filling a gap in the community, and is looking forward to assisting ADRI as one of its Strategic Advisers. When he is not working, you’ll find Fayez playing (rather unsuccessfully) football or caught up in the thick of a good book, movie, or TV program.

 

Amelia Bowers 

Executive Assistant 

 

Amelia is in her fifth and final year of an Bachelor of Laws and BA conjoint at Victoria University in Wellington. As an International Relations, Political Science and Religious Studies major, she is particularly interested in the Middle East and the numerous socio-religious and political issues stemming from this region. Amelia was previously a Law Clerk at a Wellington based firm specialising in Constitutional issues and dealt extensively with the Treaty of Waitangi, a role which further inspired her desire to meet social issues domestically and internationally. She is extremely excited to use the knowledge from her studies in a practical way within ADRI, and is currently working on effectively illustrating what ADRI seeks to achieve as a social enterprise. Amelia is also currently learning the Arabic langauge. 

Comments

Hey! Thanks for checking out this project.

We haven't made any updates yet, follow us if you want to be notified when we do.

Katie de Roo
25/06/2017 at 9:23pm
Donnella Weir
05/06/2017 at 7:07pm
Alice Tappenden
05/06/2017 at 2:30pm
Anonymous pledger
05/06/2017 at 11:53am

"I really hope your campaign will be successful. My desire is to see more Arabic content online, especially of the scientific fields"

Rosa
04/06/2017 at 11:35pm
Tayyaba Khan
04/06/2017 at 11:23pm

"Best of luck."

Anonymous pledger
03/06/2017 at 12:49pm
James Thomas
02/06/2017 at 12:46pm

Followers of Arabic Digital Reform Institute

This campaign was unsuccessful and finished on 03/07/2017 at 7:00 PM.