MEDIA RELEASE PR41656
World Bank Opens First Global 'Apps for Development' Competition
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Software Developers to Design Tools to Fight Poverty Using Open Data
The World Bank Group today kicked off the "Apps for Development" competition, the first global contest of its
kind. President Robert B. Zoellick challenged software developers and international experts around the world to
enter the contest. Entries must be filed by January 10, 2011.
"Help change the world by using the World Bank's data collection to help
find solutions to today's development challenges," said Zoellick. "Create
applications to analyze and tackle the world's long-standing problems."
The competition challenges developers to create software applications,
tools, data visualizations or "mash-ups"- whether web-based, mobile, through
SMS, smart phone, desktop, or tablet. There are only two requirements for
entries: use the World Bank Data Catalog
"The World Bank is seeking creative 'apps' that bring ground level
insights of the development challenges posed by the MDGs," said Shaida
Badiee, Director of World Bank Group's Development Research Data Group. "The
apps created in this competition will allow policy makers, researchers, and
civil society to track the impact of policies, develop new solutions, and
measure improvements more accurately."
"We'd like to see examples of developers everywhere using our data and
combining it with their own data to build really useful applications
addressing local problems. That's the power of crowdsourcing innovation and
that's the essence of the challenge," added Aleem Walji, World Bank Institute
Innovation Practice Manager.
Competition Requirements
Entries must be submitted no later than January 10, 2011, must relate to
data from at least one of the datasets available in the World Bank Data
Entries will compete for $45,000 in prizes and financial support. Large
organizations may compete for a corporate recognition award. Winning entries
will be featured on the World Bank Group's website.
The distinguished panel of judges includes Craig Newmark, Founder of
Craigslist, Inc; Kannan Pashupathy, Director, Engineering, Google; Ory
Okolloh, Executive Director and Co-Founder,Ushahidi; Homi Kharas, Senior
Fellow and Deputy Director, Global Economy and Development, the Brookings
Institution; and Shanta Devarajan, Chief Economist, World Bank's Africa
Region.
Get contest details and enter your app at:
The Apps for Development competition platform is powered by ChallengePost
To access the World Bank Data Catalog:
To view the competition website, please visit
View World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick video announcement:
Listen to World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick audio announcement:
World Bank Open Forum "Open Development Solutions"
To learn more about The World Bank's work, please visit
SOURCE: World Bank Group
CONTACT: In Washington: Edith Wilson, ewilson1@worldbank.org,
+1-202-473-1104; For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1-202-458-9369,
ncieslik@worldbank.org
NEWS 
