Last year (in April, 2010), the World Bank issued a challenge to software developers from across the globe to take on some of the world’s most pressing development problems by creating digital apps using the Bank’s freely available data. The response was overwhelming, with 107 entries from 36 countries across six continents, and nearly a third from Africa. A total of $55,000 was awarded in cash prizes to competition winners.
The three winning apps all feature unique approaches to pressing development challenges:
First Prize Winner $15,000 USD- StatPlanet World Bank (Australia): With this powerful app, you can visualize and compare country and regional performance over time.
Second Prize Winner $10,000 USD- Development Timelines (France): Development Timelines lets you put global development data into historical context and better understand how events such as war, education reforms, or economic booms and busts, affect progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
Third Prize Winner $5,000 USD- Yourtopia - Development beyond GDP (Germany): This interactive app allows you to sum up human development according to your own criteria and, through a short quiz, choose how important different dimensions of development are to you.
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