Accueil“Mobile applications can entertain us, connect us, and make us more productive. But can an app truly change the world?”
That’s how our Apps for Change challenge began, asking a provocative question in an attempt to elicit responses from the IdeasProject community. And respond the community did, with over 300 ideas that were viewed over 70,000 times, receiving over 1,000 votes. Ideas were submitted from 53 different countries, in categories ranging from “shop & pay” to “power & energy.”
The Challenge was hosted by Nokia’s Valerie Buckingham and Pia Erkinheimo. The distinguished panel of judges included social media guru JD Lasica, “Early Indications” newsletter author Dr. John Jordan, media entrepreneur Juliette Powell, marketing specialist Peter Hirshberg, and Nokia strategic partnerships executive Jussi Hinkkanen.
Honors Around the World
After reviewing the incredible range of ideas submitted in the Challenge, our judges were hard pressed to choose just three that merited honorable mention. These were the ones that stood out:
● Seamus Maguire from Ireland submitted an idea for an app designed to increase the use of carpools, and thereby reduce an individual’s carbon footprint. Using Nokia’s Ovi Maps, an app user could view other nearby maps users in need of a ride. The app could even be used by taxi drivers interested in taking on multiple riders. Seamus’ idea generated a variety of enthusiastic comments from IdeasProject members – and Seamus himself was just as enthusiastic about the site. “I think [that IdeasProject] is a fantastic initiative,” he told us, “and I enjoy browsing the different ideas that people around the world so readily share.”
● Christian Andre from Lyon, France suggested an app that would help people to find an activity that would allow them to take positive action in the world. Users could select how much time they wanted to spend on their activity, as well as when, where, and what kind of purpose they wanted to support – and they could even decide how hard the action should be. Christian believes that his app should be on every Nokia phone.
● Austin, Texas based Steve Amos offered an idea that was viewed over 1,200 times, with over 100 “likes.” His app would allow teachers and students to use their mobile phones to collaborate on a variety of activities, from creating projects to publishing the results of their activities. In his entry, Steve said that “… [m]obile phones should not be left at the school doors, but rather embraced as a valuable tool in the process of learning and doing great things for the planet.” His app idea is intended to leverage the work of Green Ribbon Schools, an initiative intended to “promote and engage students, staff and families in healthy living and effective learning.”
The Winning App For Change
In keeping with the global span of our ideators, the winning idea comes from Sana Refai and Kamel Seghaeir of Tunisia. Their simple suggestion: Create an app that will allow an individual to search for a blood donor, merging a global donor community with GPS localization to recommend a nearby match. Their simple slogan: “Give me life, give me hope, give me blood, let my heart beat.”
Such an app could allow a wide range of individuals in desperate need of a blood transfusion to find compatible donors in their geographical area. While Kamel and Sana’s app could be useful in developed countries, perhaps its greatest value could be found in developing economies, where mobile phones are ubiquitous – but advanced blood transfusion services are not.
To reward Sana and Kamel for submitting their winning app idea, Nokia will engage its developer community to see that the “give me life” app is created and posted to the Ovi Store for free download around the world. The Tunisian ideators will also be able to determine the recipient of a $10,000US contribution to a non-profit organization.
You Can Catalyze Change, Too
If you’re as energized by these winning ideas as we are, we encourage IdeasProject members to search the rest of the submissions in the Apps for Change Challenge, to find ideas they think are worth creating. And we also encourage our members to continue submitting ideas for other Challenges, in the hope that you can help encourage others with your creative suggestions for ways to create apps that can have a positive impact in the world.
Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2011/05/25/apps-for-change-ann...
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