Know of any innovative development initiatives in the Asia Pacific region that promote access to the web, digital literacy or use the internet to achieve humanitarian goals? Nominate them now for this year’s ISIF Asia Awards!
Internet access in Asia Pacific is a topsy turvy tale. On the one hand, the region has the fastest-growing internet user base. On the other, access rates vary drastically from country to country. According to the World Bank, 85 per cent of people in East Asia have access to the internet compared with 20 per cent of people living in Pacific Island countries.
To help support progressive initiatives in the Asia Pacific region that foster fair internet access or address development issues using online tools, the ISIF Asia Awards are held each year, looking to recognise the best of the best in this field. The call for nominations for this year’s Awards is currently on and closes 15 September 2016.
Entrants can apply to one of two categories:
- technical innovation, which addresses areas like access provision, electricity supply (for example by powering networks using renewable energy sources), devices, IoT, IPv6, security and privacy; and
- community impact, which covers projects that support women and girls in IT, promote democracy enhancement, open data, economic empowerment and poverty alleviation.
The awards are looking for initiatives that are already up and running or are nearing the final stages of implementation. Judges will select a winner in each category. The two winners will receive a cash prize of 3,000 AUD plus a travel grant to attend the award ceremony 2016 Internet Governance in Guadalajara at the end of the year. Entrants will also go in the running to win 1,000 AUD as part of the community choice category.
The ISIF Asia Awards were first held in 2011 and look to highlight the intersection between technical innovation and social change. Previous winners include: doctHERS, a service in Pakistan that connects at-home female doctors with impoverished or remotely-located patients via the web; I Change My City, an Indian platform that helps people connect on civic issues, be it municipal waste management or potholes; and LiteGatway NAS Appliance, a broadband internet system that is connecting remote islands in Vanuatu to the internet.
Find out more about previous winners or submit a nomination for this year’s via the ISIF Asia Awards website.
