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marketing firm has created what it is billing as the first-ever smartphone application program to provide youth worldwide with information and access to resources on education, employment and health.

US-based firm Tribal Brands has developed mPowering Mobile Platform, an application aimed at amplifying the voice of young people across the globe.

“It is important to listen to the voices of young people across the world, to empower and amplify their voices,” said Jeff Martin, former Apple senior executive, now CEO of Tribal Brands.

The app is expected to be available February next year.

Martin was speaking on the sidelines of the Global Youth Forum (GYF) “International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”, held Dec. 4 to Dec. 6 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

During a trial run for the app, participants had the opportunity to record and share stories through the platform, which will be officially launched during the Grammy Awards next year.

Tribal Brands set up three stations during the forum to demonstrate how mPowering Mobile Platform collects stories from the youth, shares them with the world and connects them with organizations they could possibly
work with.

Martin said that with the application, young people could empower themselves by using gadgets to find people whom they could partner with to solve the world’s problems.

With the application, people can tell their stories with the help of recording devices on their smartphones and tablets or share them through an email, text message or Twitter.

The app encourages the dissemination of ideas, encouraging youth to participate in change. By using the app, users will get a free digital download of a song exclusive to the platform.

Tribal Brands program manager Sherry Wang said that the company was currently working with recording artists to create exclusives for the application.

She said Agnes Monica and Timbaland were among the artists Tribal Brands was working with to create music.

“She [Agnes Monica] is a very famous artist here. She recorded a song just for the mobile platform. The hope is that the song will encourage youth to submit their stories,” Wang told The Jakarta Post.

Agnes, alongside Timbaland, a well-known music producer who was recently appointed the first producer-in-residence for the platform, closed the three-day conference with a concert.

Unlike other social media platforms, mPowering Mobile Platform enables its users to interact by connecting them with other youth living in their vicinity that share the same story.

“I believe that business and partnership with the GYF can actually solve the problems the government can’t with money well-spent,” said Martin, adding that 100 million users had been projected to use this new application.