Apps4Climate Action contest calls on B.C. developers to raise awareness through apps

The B.C. government has launched a contest that encourages software developers to build Web and mobile applications that raise awareness about climate change.

Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap announced the Apps4Climate Action contest today (March 26) at the Globe 2010 conference in Vancouver.

To be eligible for the contest, apps must use B.C. government data from the province’s new Climate Change Data Catalogue. The catalogue is a portal to more than 500 publicly available data sets.

Developers can enter their apps between April 19 and July 15.

There will be four judged categories—mobile app, Web app, best of B.C., and overall best app—and one people’s choice category.

According to the contest site, the adjudication criteria includes:

1. Usefulness and relevance of the Application to raising awareness of climate change and climate related issues
2. Innovation and creativity
3. Visual appeal
4. User experience

The public will have the chance to vote on the submissions from July 23 to August 20.

On September 16, the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony.

Out of $40,000 in prizes, the overall best app winner will get $5,500.

The other categories will have grand, second, and third prizes, as well as honourable mentions.

In December, the province had posted a call for interest, seeking sponsors for the contest.

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.

See also

Apps contest sees B.C. developers take on climate change with open data