PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 28 May 2013
‘Mobile for Good Europe Awards’
VODAFONE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES SEARCH FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL APPS
Vodafone Foundation today announces the launch of the first Mobile for Good Europe Awards to search for iOS and Android apps designed to improve people’s lives and deliver substantial public benefit.
Creators of the winning apps, in categories including accessibility, mobilising public services, health and education, will receive a shared prize fund of €200,000 to be used for the development of their innovations. Mobilising Public Services will focus on how local and national governments can leverage mobile technology to improve the delivery of public services. The closing date for entries is 15 October and an awards ceremony will be held in Brussels on 5 December 2013.
The awards build on the success of the Vodafone Foundation’s Smart Accessibility Awards, held in 2011 and 2012 with the cooperation with AGE Platform Europe and the European Disability Forum, which was a competition to find Android apps which improve the lives of older people or people with disabilities. Last year’s winners included Juan Carlos Gonzalez Montesino, who designed Ablah, an app to help his autistic son communicate.
Judges of the Health category will be searching for innovative solutions to overcome challenges in areas such as real-time patient monitoring and the collection and distribution of health-related data. For the Accessibility category, which follows on from last year’s Smart Accessibility Awards, judges will look for apps which can improve the quality of life for people with disabilities or older people. The Education category judges will look for mobile apps which provide simple and effective teaching tools. In each of the four categories, the winner will receive €30,000, second place wins €15,000 and third place receives €5,000. There will be local workshops organised for the developers in Berlin, Amsterdam and Madrid. The Mobile for Good Europe Awards is again a partnership with AGE Platform Europe and the European Disability Forum, representing the users’ perspective.
Vodafone Group Sustainability Director and Director of the Vodafone Foundation Andrew Dunnett said: “Mobile technology has the potential to educate, liberate and empower hundreds of millions of people. We hope the Mobile for Good Europe Awards will inspire innovators to invest in new and creative ways to use mobile to enhance individual daily lives and deliver substantial public benefits.”
Anne-Sophie Parent, AGE Platform Europe Secretary General, stated: “As highlighted by Mrs Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, in her speech held at AGE General Assembly on 17 May, innovation can help address the challenges of an ageing society in supporting social inclusion, active and healthy ageing and contributing to an age-friendly EU. Mobile technology can – and should – benefit all citizens in our society, whatever their age or ability, and help them lead more independent, ‘inclusive’, active, and healthier lives.”
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