June 18, 2012, LONDON: After the huge success of CDI Europe’s Dragons’ Den style events, we are proud to announce our first Apps for Good Awards (AFGA2012). Over the past 12 months 1,200 students from 40 schools went through Apps for Good courses and 200+ app teams had the chance to submit their app ideas. We are now down to the best 14 finalist teams. The 7 winners will work with professional developers to bring their app completely to life.

The awards ceremony will take place at The Barbican Centre, London, on 29th June at 6.30pm and will be presented by BBC journalist and ex-Tomorrow’s World presenter, Maggie Philbin. Maggie has worked in radio and television for over 30 years on a wide range of science, medical and technology programmes. Winning entries will receive prizes including having the winning apps built by one of the AFGA sponsors, tickets to top venues and a trip to the London finals to present in front of top industry experts.

The 7 AFGA categories are:

• The Power to Do More – (sponsored by Dell)
• Well-Being – (sponsored by the Nominet Trust)
• Learning – (sponsored by NESTA)
• Community – (sponsored by Omidyar Network)
• Travel – (sponsored by BlackBerry)
• Information – (sponsored by Thomson Reuters)
• Money – (sponsored by Barclaycard)

In the afternoon the two finalist teams from each category (14 teams in total) will pitch to a panel of experts formed by top executives representing each sponsor, CDI board members and experts from the digital and creative industry and from the Apps for Good Expert community.

Iris Lapinski, CEO, CDI Europe – Apps for Good, said:
“The Apps for Good Awards showcase the best of young people in the UK today. They are hard-working, ambitious and are coming up with really inspiring ideas to change their world. From the age of 13, most young people are making choices about careers and who they want to be later in life, so it’s a critical time for them to experience what is possible. Thank you to our sponsors, the Barbican Centre, schools and all partners for bringing Apps for Good to life!”

Jennifer Friday Jones, EMEA Giving Manager, Dell, said:
“Dell is proud to support the ‘Power to Do More’ category. The way students learn today is undergoing a major transformation as schools move to a digital learning environment. Students have great access and opportunities to access information, collaborate with their peers and teachers and create and consume content with the aid of technology. Through Dell’s technology solutions, youth have the chance to transform problem-solving and critical thinking exercises into valuable work skills. By placing technology in the hands of students, they are given the tools to enable them to maximize their learning ability and unleash their true potential to do more.”

Annika Small, CEO, Nominet Trust, said:
“Digital technology can play a big role in improving the life-chances of young people. Digital-making activities, such as the Apps for Good programme, gives young people a foundation in entrepreneurship, community involvement, problem-solving and teamwork; valuable skills that will enable them to participate both socially and economically within their communities. Nominet Trust has been a keen supporter of the Apps for Good programme since its inception and is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s competition. It’s evident from the high calibre of entries that the young people involved have learnt so much more than just coding and it is these life skills that are as important as the end product itself.”

Jon Kingsbury Director, Creative Economy Programmes, NESTA said:
“New innovations in learning technologies should involve students, which is why Nesta is delighted to be supporting the learning category in the Apps for Good Competition. The Apps for Good design process puts students centre stage – they identify problems and generate solutions for issues that matter to them, all the while learning valuable technical skills. We are also excited about the new app which will be developed as a result of the competition, and which will be available to support other students with their learning.”

Stephen King, Partner, Omidyar Network, said:
“By encouraging young people to be entrepreneurs and to use technology to enable social impact, Apps for Good inspires individual action as well as connects talented leaders in a shared mission to create change. Omidyar Network is proud to support a programme that embodies our mission to create opportunity for people to improve their own lives and those of their communities, as well as our focus on the potential of technology to present new solutions to the world’s toughest social problems. CDI has thought through how to inspire action in young people in the UK, and we believe this is one opportunity of many to work together on initiatives that can enable citizens to solve problems in their own communities.”

Stephen Bates, Managing Director, Research In Motion UK and Ireland, said:
“Fostering innovation is at the heart of everything we do. Inspiring today’s youth to think creatively about the world around them and the technology that shapes the way we live our lives is crucial to creating sustained innovation in our business. We are proud to support the travel category of the Apps for Good Awards. We hope this will encourage more students to have the opportunity to bring their ideas to life.”

Bob Schukai, Global Head of Mobile Technology at Thomson Reuters, and Tech City Investment Organisation ambassador, said:
“The Apps for Good project blends technology, creativity, investment and talent in a way that should help inspire young people to develop apps that can make a real difference to their lives and the lives of others. As the leading source of intelligent information for the world’s businesses and professionals we believe that the right information in the right hands leads to amazing things, so we’re delighted to sponsor the ‘Information’ category at the Apps for Good Awards.”

Jeremy Reynolds, Corporate Affairs Director, Barclaycard, said:
“Barclaycard is delighted to sponsor the Money category of Apps for Good. Financial management is a fundamental life skill that is often neglected. The creative use of new technology has a crucial role to play helping young people to get to grips with managing their money, enabling them to build a solid financial foundation for the rest of their lives.”

Learn more about Apps for Good at http://appsforgood.org/.