The Big Issue independent magazine, sold on the streets by homeless or disadvantaged people, has just launched an AR enhanced special issue on the “Tech for Good” topic.

“As we continue to innovate and evolve in a digital society, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Konica Minolta to offer an enhanced magazine for our readers and hardworking vendors. The ‘Tech for Good’ special not only shows the ways in which we’re pushing the boundaries of what print magazines can achieve, but also gives readers enhanced insights into the lives of our vendors, as their stories are brought into video and audio right in front of our readers’ eyes”, says Ben Sullivan (The Big Issue digital editor) for E&T.

The Big Issue Group started more than 25 years ago in UK. Vendors (homeless, disadvantaged or marginalized people) buy copies of the magazine for £1.25 and sell them for £2.50, keeping the difference. Since 1991, more than 200 million magazines have been sold, and the model was exported in other 35 countries.

The latest issue allows the readers to download an app on their mobile phones, scan AR icons from the magazine and watch videos that come to life from the printed articles. One of the goals of the special issue is to shed light on the homelessness, which is at the highest in the UK now, and on the system that is not able to really help those in need. The AR interactions bring stories to life, and if traditionally the readers could only read the vendors’ stories, now they can understand the stories further and get immersed through videos and audios. Also, the same issue shows, through relevant stories, how businesses, social enterprises, innovation and technology can come together and support the most vulnerable population in the world.