On Arabic Literacy Day, 8th of January 2016, KalimaLock was launched in Google Play Store and Galaxy Apps for free across the GCC. Our key target audiences were schools and parents as they are the main figureheads who decide which apps, games and content will ultimately end up in a child’s mobile device.
Within the first week of its launch, KalimaLock received widespread publicity from over 27 major press and online publications in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – generating a total of 12,132,528 impressions.
Although recently launched, KalimaLock has already gotten the attention of GEMS Education, the largest education provider in the region, who is looking to implement the app in all of its 44 schools, which will be used by over 104,000 students. At the same time, Samsung is currently in the process of launching an integrated digital and social awareness campaign to reach out to the public/parents – to educate and promote the use of KalimaLock not just in schools, but also at home.
With over 200 nationalities in the GCC, English is often the language of choice in schools and at home. This has directly affected the ability of almost 70% of Arab children to read and write in their native language.
Knowing how children today are so attached to their mobile devices, Samsung, a global leader in Smartphones/Tablets, saw an opportunity to improve their literacy skills. And it was the simple action of unlocking a device that inspired the solution. KalimaLock (Kalima means ‘Word’ in Arabic) is a mobile app that turns the native lock screen pattern on Samsung devices into an Arabic word. So now, in order to gain access to their much-loved games/apps, children had to simply follow a predefined pattern of dots to learn how to read and write a new Arabic word (randomly selected from a library of words), every time they unlocked their device.