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Speakeasy is a telephone service that connects new immigrants with bilingual community members who are familiar with local resources and social service options. This project provides access to language interpretation wherever it is needed. To use the service, immigrants simply dial the Speakeasy telephone number from any phone. A computer greets the caller in his or her native language, and, after querying the Speakeasy database, connects the caller to an available volunteer. Speakeasy also supports ad-hoc conference calling. Immigrants and volunteers may initiate an outgoing call to any 3rd party, including social service agencies and local businesses. The volunteer provides language interpretation assistance for the immigrant and also helps address cultural and privacy issues that ordinarily obstruct access to social services. Speakeasy relies on the ubiquity of mobile telephones to overcome temporal and proximity barriers to traditional volunteerism. Volunteers register their mobile phone numbers with the Speakeasy web service, and schedule times when they are available to receive calls.
(source: www.newmediabeijing.org)
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