Vodafone Foundation today announced the launch of the much awaited annual Vodafone Mobile for Good Awards 2013. Organized in association with Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), these awards seek to acknowledge and nurture mobile innovative solutions that deliver social change.
Now In its third year running, Vodafone Mobile for Good Awards has announced a sum of Rs. 40, 00,000 to support deployment for 4 best practice mobile solutions which enable new opportunities for communities and address basic social issues in the area of health, education, governance and business inclusion. In addition to financial support, award winners will be provided requisite guidance for project scale-up and expansion in core and related areas of their work.
NGOs and social enterprises from across the country that focus on using mobile or have developed any innovative mobile application to benefit communities can apply for these awards. They should be able to showcase successful and sustainable use of their particular mobile applications and / or service, developed and deployed for a minimum period of 6 months to be eligible for participation. Entries to the awards programme are now open and eligible organisations can submit their nomination until 5th May, 2013.
Speaking about the Vodafone Foundation’s exciting programme, Rohit Adya, External Affairs Director, Vodafone India, said, “Vodafone India’s commitment towards society extends beyond products and services. We believe that technology as a social enabler and helps improve the daily lives of people everywhere. The Mobile for Good awards programme is our way of encouraging mobile innovation in the social sector by providing crucial funding to NGOs that use mobile solutions to improve efficiencies and enhance the delivery of their existing services.”
Formed under the framework of the mBillionth Award instituted by DEF, the Vodafone Foundation introduced the concept of Mobiles for Good (M4G) in India in 2011. Over the last two years, Vodafone Mobile for Good Awards has supported nine such initiatives. For more information about the awards, to apply and read about the past winners and their successful applications, please visit www.mobileforgood.in.
Osama Manzar, Founder & Director of Digital Empowerment Foundation, said, “There is a tremendous traction among NGOs who are using mobiles and its diverse features and functionalities to meet the demands of communities. Mobile for Good awards is an excellent programme to recognize and promote the use of mobile technologies for addressing basic social issues in an innovative manner.”
Categories covered under the Mobile for Good awards are applications and solutions for:
m-Health –demonstrate best practices in healthcare to help improve family life and well-being. Child care, family related issues such as supporting women, the elderly members, independence etc will fall under this category.
m-Education –focus on education and learning at any level – from primary school to higher education – impacting the society will be included in this category.
m-Governance –help the government and administration in their schemes and plan to provide residents a healthy cycle of income distribution and sustain a societal harmony will be judged under this category.
m-Business Inclusion – promote economic empowerment and to foster and enable livelihood with various business opportunities. Possibilities include commerce, business, self-employment, micro-finance, banking, e-commerce, m-commerce, livelihood generation and so on.
The winners of the Vodafone Mobile for Good Awards 2013 will be felicitated on July 18, 2013 in Delhi as part of the overall mBillionth Award 2013.