and I've lived in the US for six years.

已經在美國住了六年。

If you ask me about my life as an expatriate,

若你問我異鄉的生活如何，

I would say that I've been lucky.

我會說我很幸運，

But it hasn't been easy.

儘管並非事事如意。

Growing up, I never thought that I was going to leave my homeland.

成長過程中，我從未想過 有天會離開家鄉。

I participated in my first student protest in 2007,

2007 年我第一次 參加學生街頭抗爭，

when the president shut down one of the most important news networks.

因為當時的總統下令關閉 最重要的新聞媒體網路。

I was getting my bachelor's degree in communications,

我那時在大學念大眾傳播，

and that was the first time I realized I couldn't take free speech for granted.

那是我初次了解到，

We knew things were getting bad, but we never saw what was coming:

言論自由原來不是理所當然。

an economic crisis, infrastructure breaking down,

我們知道情況在惡化， 但沒料到後來一連串的：

citywide electrical blackouts,

經濟金融危機、 民生設施停擺、

the decline of public health care and shortage of medicines,

市區斷電頻傳、

disease outbreaks and starvation.

健保衰退、醫藥短缺、

I moved to Canada with my husband in 2013,

疾病爆發、人民挨餓。

and we always thought we'd move back home when the crisis improved.

2013 年，我和我丈夫搬到加拿大，

But we never did.

一直以為危機過後 我們會再搬回去。

Nearly all my childhood friends have left the country,

但我們始終沒有回去。

but my parents are still there.

幾乎所有兒時的朋友也都離開了，

There have been moments where I've called my mom,

但我的雙親還在那裡。

and I could hear people screaming and crying in the background

有時，當我打電話回去給我母親，

as teargas bombs exploded in the streets.

我可以聽到電話另一端 街上的催淚彈爆炸聲，

And my mom, as if I couldn't hear it, would always tell me,

及人們的尖叫、哀號聲。

(Speaking Spanish)

我母親總是一成不變地， 好像那些聲響不存在似的，

"We're fine, don't worry."

（西班牙文）

But of course, I worry.

她說：「我們很好，別擔心。」

It's my parents, and I'm 4,000 miles away.

但，我怎麼可能不擔心。

Today, I'm just one of more than four million Venezuelans

他們是我的父母， 遠在四千英里外。

who have left their home country.

其實，我只是離鄉背井的 四百萬委內瑞拉人其中之一。

A lot of my friends are Venezuelan immigrants,

我的許多朋友也都是委內瑞拉出來的，

and in the last few years,

過去幾年，我們開始發想

we've begun talking about how we could make a difference

有什麼我們能做的， 即使離故鄉這麼遠。

when we live so far away.

於是「委內瑞拉程式碼」 就在 2019 年誕生了。

That is how Code for Venezuela was born in 2019.

最初從一個駭客松開始， 因為我們都是科技人，

It began with a hackathon, because we are experts in tech,

我們想或許可以發揮我們的所長

and we thought we could use our tech skills

為在地人創造一些解決方案。

to create solutions for people on the ground.

但首先，我們得要找到一些

But first, we needed to find some experts actually living inside Venezuela

實際住在委內瑞拉的專家來指導。

to guide us.

因為我們看過太多其他的駭客松，

We'd see so many other hackathons

做出了很多精心設計、 雄心勃勃又出色的軟體，

that came up with wily, ambitious, incredible technological solutions

理論聽起來都很棒，

that sounded great in theory but ultimately failed to work

可是當真正要在目標國家 施行時卻失敗了。

in the actual countries they were intended to help.

我們許多人在國外住了數年，

Many of us have been living abroad for years,

我們已經不是很清楚

and we are detached from the day-to-day problems

在委內瑞拉的人 每天所要面對的問題。

that people are facing in Venezuela.

所以我們向真正住在 當地的專家求助。

So we turned to the experts actually living inside of the country.

比如，胡利歐•卡斯楚醫師，

For example, Julio Castro,

他是「醫療保健網」領導人之一。

a doctor and one of the leaders of Médicos por la Salud.

2015 年，當政府停止發佈 健康保健的官方資料後，

When the government stopped publishing official health care data in 2015,

胡利歐醫生組織了一個非官方、

Dr. Julio began collecting information himself,

協調運作良好的手機通報系統， 開始收集相關資訊。

using an informal but coordinated system

其中包含醫療人員、藥物、器材、

of cell phone communications.

死亡率、疾病爆發等資訊；

They track available personnel, medical supplies, mortality data,

將之匯編成報告， 在推特上分享。

disease outbreaks;

講到委內瑞拉醫療保健， 他是我們的在地專家。

compile it into a report;

再來，路易•斯卡羅斯•迪亞茲，

and then share that on Twitter.

一位廣為人知的記者，

He became our go-to expert on health care in Venezuela.

專注報導委內瑞拉的 審查制度及人權侵犯。

Luis Carlos Díaz,

他主要協助我們了解事情的真相，

a widely recognized journalist who reports acts of censorship

因為新聞都是政府在掌控。

and human rights violations suffered by the people of Venezuela,

我們稱這些人為在地英雄。

he helps us make sense of what is happening there,

有了他們的專業建議，

since the news is controlled by the government.

我們提出一系列的挑戰 給駭客松的參賽者。

We call these people our heroes on the ground.

第一場駭客松共有 來自七個國家，三百人參加，

With their expert advice, we came up with a series of challenges

總共提出了十六個不同的計畫。

for hackathon participants.

我們挑出其中最有潛力的，

In that first hackathon, we had 300 participants

在賽後繼續發展。

from seven countries

今天我要分享 其中兩個最成功的計畫，

come up with 16 different project submissions.

讓大家看看我們目前的成果。

We picked the projects with the most potential

分別是「醫療推特」 和「停電追蹤器」。

and continued working on them after the event.

醫療推特是個智慧推特機器人，

Today, I'll share two of our most successful projects

它能協助委內瑞拉人民 找到他們需要的藥物。

to give you a taste of the impact we are having so far.

現在，在委內瑞拉，

They're called MediTweet and Blackout Tracker.

如果你生病去求醫，

MediTweet is an intelligent Twitter bot

醫院也不見得有 治療你疾病所需的醫材。

that helps Venezuelans find the medicine they need.

情況惡劣到

Right now in Venezuela,

醫生通常會給病人 一張「購物清單」，

if you get sick and you go to a hospital,

而不是處方簽。

there is a good chance they won't have the right medical supplies to treat you.

關於這個我有親身經驗。

The situation is so bad

2015 年，我母親被診斷出癌症。

that patients often get a "shopping list" from the doctor

她需要做腰椎穿刺，

instead of a prescription.

醫生才能確診 並訂定治療計畫。

I live the need for this firsthand.

但醫院沒有做穿刺所需的針。

My mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2015.

當時我人在委內瑞拉，

She needed to have a lumbar puncture

我每天看著母親的情況越來越糟。

to get a final diagnosis and treatment plan.

我們找了很久， 終於在網路上找到了，

But the needle for this procedure wasn't available.

那個網站就像是拉丁美洲的 eBay。

I was in Venezuela at that time,

我跟賣家約在附近的麵包店，

and I was seeing my mom getting worse in front of me every day.

好像在黑市買東西一樣。

After looking everywhere, we found the needle in a site

我母親把針帶去給醫生， 醫生進行了手術。

that is like the eBay of Latin America.

沒有那根針，她早就不在了。

I met the seller in a local bakery,

但不僅是醫材，藥品也是如此。

and it was like buying something on the black market.

她剛確診時，

My mom brought the needle to her doctor, and he did the procedure.

我們還能在公家藥房 買到她所需的藥品。

Without this, she could have died.

也不用花什麼錢。

But it's not just medical supplies,

可是當公家藥房存貨用完，

it's medicines, too.

我母親還有六個月的療程。

When she was first diagnosed,

六個月的療程。

we bought her treatment in a state pharmacy,

我們在網路上買到一些藥， 剩下的從墨西哥買。

and it was, like, practically free.

目前她正處於緩解的第三年，

But then the state pharmacy ran out,

每次我打電話去，

and we still had six months of treatment ahead.

她就會告訴我： 「我很好，別擔心。」

Six months of treatment ahead.

但並非人人都有辦法 離開委內瑞拉，

We bought some medicines online and the rest in Mexico.

許多人的健康狀況也無法旅行。

Now she's in her third year of remission,

那就是為什麼人民會轉向推特，

and every time that I call,

用「#ServicioPublico」 來買賣藥品，

she tells me, "I'm fine, don't worry."

這個標籤是「公共服務」。

But not everyone can afford to leave the country,

這個推特機器人能掃瞄 #ServicioPublico，

and many aren't healthy enough to travel.

將那些搜尋特定藥品的使用者

That is why people turn to Twitter,

和販賣私人用剩 藥品的賣家連結起來。

buying and selling medicines using the hashtag #ServicioPublico,

我們再把這些推特 用戶的地點資料統合，

meaning "public service."

做成一個視覺化的工具。

Our Twitter bot scans Twitter for the hashtag #ServicioPublico

類似「保健醫生」的在地組織，

and connects users who are asking for specific medicines

能一看就知道什麼地方缺少什麼。

with those who are selling their private leftovers.

我們也將機器學習演算法

We also pool the location data of those Twitter users

運用在偵測疾病發生的區域，

and use it for a visualization tool.

以及當地是否有援助物資，

It gives local organizations like Médicos por la Salud

這個工具可以協助有關單位

a sense of where they have a shortage.

在補給品的分配上 做出更好的決策。

We can also apply machine learning algorithms

我們的第二個計畫 叫做「停電追蹤器」，

to detect clusters of disease.

目前，委內瑞拉正值電力危機。

If they've received humanitarian aid,

去年委內瑞拉的斷電次數多到

this could help them to make better decisions

有些人說是有史以來最慘的一年。

about the distributions of the supplies.

我有足足兩天無法和我父母通訊。

Our second project, is called Blackout Tracker.

有些城市天天停電。

Venezuela is currently going through an electricity crisis.

但這些只能在社群媒體上看到。

Last year, Venezuela suffered what some people consider

因為政府不會在新聞上報導停電。

the worst power failures in Venezuelan history.

現在一斷電，委內瑞拉人 就趕快打開手機，

I had two long days without communication with my parents.

用推特發出「SinLuz」標籤 及其所在位置，

Some cities experienced blackouts every day.

這標籤的意思是「沒電」，

But you only know about this on social media.

當然是在手機電池還有電時，

The government won't report blackouts on the news.

這樣全國各地的人 都知道哪裡斷電。

When the power goes out,

就像醫療推特，

many Venezuelans, we quickly tweet out the location with the hashtag #SinLuz,

停電追蹤器掃瞄推特， 找出 #SinLuz 標籤，

meaning "without electricity,"

把使用者的地點做成一張地圖。

before their phones ran out of battery,

你能一眼看到

so people around the country know what is happening.

今天哪些地方停電，

Like MediTweet,

以及某特定時段 總共斷電了幾次。

Blackout Tracker scans Twitter for the hashtag #SinLuz

人民有知的權利，

and creates a map using the location data of those users.

我們提供辦法。

You can quickly see

同時，這些資訊也能作為依據，

where the blackouts are happening today

以前政府很輕易就能否認問題的存在，

and how many blackouts have happened over time.

或是找藉口塘塞，

People want to know what is happening,

因為沒有官方數據。

and this is our answer.

現在有了停電追蹤器， 則可呈現出問題的嚴重性。

But it's also a way of holding the government accountable.

當然有些矽谷人 可能會覺得這些計畫

It's easy for them to deny that the problem exists

好像沒什麼重大的技術創新。

or make excuses,

可是，那正是重點。

because there is no official data on it.

這些計畫雖然不是超級先進，

Blackout Tracker shows how bad the problem really is.

卻是委內瑞拉人民需要的，

Now, some people in Silicon Valley may look at these projects

對生活有巨大影響的。

and say that there are no major technological innovations.

除此之外，我們最大的成就

But that is the point.

或許是開始一項運動，

These projects are not insanely advanced,

一個將世界各地的人集結在一起，

but it's what the people of Venezuela need,

運用專業技，幫委內瑞拉人民 創造出一些解決方案。

and they can have a tremendous impact.

同時，因為與當地人合作，

Beyond these projects, perhaps our most significant accomplishment

我們做出來的是人民 想要、需要的解決方案。

is that a movement has been created,

更棒的一點是，

one where people around the world are coming together

我們用的是本身的專業技能，

to use their professional skills to create solutions for the people of Venezuela.

所以做來得心應手，

And because we are partnering with locals,

輕輕鬆鬆就發揮了影響力。

we are creating the solutions that people want and need.

今天假設在舊金山，

What is so great about this

有人想聘請專業人士 開發出醫療推特

is that we are using our professional skills,

或停電追蹤器 這類解決方案，

so it comes easily and naturally.

可得花一筆不小的錢。

It's not that hard for us to make a difference.

我們只是提供自身的技能，

If someone from San Francisco

發揮的影響力卻比純粹捐錢還大。

were to hire professionals to create solutions

各位同樣也能做到——

like MediTweet or Blackout Tracker,

不一定是委內瑞拉，

it would cost a small fortune.

而是貢獻給你自己的社會。

By donating our services,

現今世界似乎比以往更緊密相連，

we are making a bigger impact than if we were just to donate money.

但仍有許多處於偏僻 或封閉角落的社群，

And you can do the same thing --

只要我們願意就能伸出援手。

not in Venezuela, necessarily,

我也相信，你們可以 運用本身的專業技能

but in your own community.

將不同社群的資源串聯起來，

In a world that is more connected than ever,

創造出有效的解決方案。

we still see how specialized communities can be living isolated or in silos.

任何一個有知識、 有專業技能的人，

There are so many great ways to help,

都有強大的力量 能帶給社會希望。

but I believe that you can use your professional skills

對我們「委內瑞拉程式碼」而言，

to connect diverse communities and create effective solutions

這還只是開端。

through those relationships.

謝謝。

Anyone with knowledge and professional skills

（掌聲）

has a powerful force to bring hope to a community.

For us at Code for Venezuela,

this is just the beginning.

Thank you.

(Applause)