Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
|
App Challenge targets climate change
Cash prize for most innovative concept
Geneva, 12 April, 2011 – ITU
has launched a Green ICT Application Challenge to find the best and most
innovative idea for a climate change focused app. The winning concept will be
awarded USD10,000, thanks to challenge sponsors Research in Motion (RIM) and
Telefónica.
As well as
the cash prize, the winner will be invited to present their concept to a
prestigious audience at ITU’s
Green Standards Week
in Italy in September. In addition, the winning app may be developed and
showcased during a side event to be held at the COP-17 climate change talks in
South Africa in December.
Dr Hamadoun
Touré, ITU Secretary General said, “We have seen how ubiquitous apps have become
and how useful they can be. The Green ICT Application Challenge is our way of
spurring a next wave of innovation tackling real world problems. We are excited
to see what developers will create to influence this truly global problem.”
Malcolm
Johnson, Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau: “The objective
of this competition is to push contestants to think outside the box and develop
concept papers for an ICT application that will be a truly valuable contribution
to the green ICT industry. In particular, we want contestants to think about the
issues faced by developing countries for adaptation and/or mitigation.”
Challenge
sponsors RIM and Telefónica both recognize that ‘green’ applications for web and
mobile devices have great potential to contribute to climate change abatement
worldwide. While there are many apps on the market that target carbon
footprinting, this Challenge aims to move to the next stage, with apps that
focus on, for example:
-
Mitigation of climate change through energy efficiency in sectors such as
smart buildings, intelligent transportation systems, smart
homes, etc.
-
Community engagement
-
Eco-design
-
Monitoring of climate change
-
Measurement of GHG emissions
-
Adaptation to climate change (e.g. use of applications for emergency
telecommunications and alerting systems for disaster relief)
Contestants are asked to submit a detailed concept
paper with an explanation of how their idea helps combat climate change and
provides an ICT solution to environmental or sustainability issues. Entries may
be any kind of software tool or game, be it for the web, a personal computer or
a mobile device. The closing date for entries is 17:00 CET, 17 June, 2011.
More information, including rules and entry
requirements, is available at:
www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the
Green ICT Applications Challenge. For information, please contact:
greenstandard@itu.int.
More information on ITU’s work on ICTs and climate change
is available at www.itu.int/climate.
For more information, please contact:
For press
enquiries:
Other enquiries:
Toby Johnson
Senior Communications Officer
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau,
|
Cristina Bueti
Programme Co-ordinator
Email:
greenstandard@itu.int |
About ITU...