Vodafone Regulatory News (VOD)

28 May 2013

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, which was a competition to find Android apps which improve the lives of those with disabilities and the elderly. 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 those with disabilities or the elderly. 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 a partnership with AGE Platform Europe and the European Disability Forum.

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."

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For further information:

Vodafone Group

Media Relations - Telephone: +44 (0) 1635 664444

Note to Editors:

To enter the Mobile for Good Europe Awards, please visit www.mobileforgoodeuropeawards.com 

About Vodafone Foundation

The Vodafone Foundation invests in the communities in which Vodafone operates and is at the centre of a network of global and local social investment programmes. In countries in which Vodafone operates, social investment is delivered by a unique footprint of 28 Vodafone Foundations and social investment programmes. These programmes are directed and chosen by the Foundation Trustees and receive funding from the Vodafone Foundation in the UK as well as their local Vodafone company. The Vodafone Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (registered number 1089625).

About AGE Platform Europe

AGE Platform Europe (a.i.s.b.l.) is a European network of more than 165 organisations of and for people aged 50+, which aims to voice and promote the interests of the 150 million senior citizens in the European Union and to raise awareness on the issues that concern them most.

AGE strongly believes that accessible technologies can promote independent living, social inclusion, and active participation of older people in society and equal opportunities for all. Its work in this area aims at ensuring that technological developments meet the needs and expectations of older people.www.age-platform.eu

About the European Disability Forum (EDF)

EDF is the European umbrella organisation representing the interests of 80 million persons with disabilities in Europe. The mission of EDF is to ensure persons with disabilities full access to fundamental and human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation in Europe. EDF works closely with the European institutions, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. http://www.edf-feph.org/