Nominations open for AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2017

Nominations are now open for the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2017 – an annual showcase for the amazing people who use digital technology to make the world a better place.

They are the only awards to highlight the wealth of charities, businesses and volunteers across the UK that utilise the power of technology to improve the lives of others.

This is the seventh year of the awards, which are organised by national charity AbilityNet and sponsored by BT, and entry is free and open to any business, charity, individual or public body in the UK.

To once again launch the awards at the BT Tower, Anna Easton, Director Sustainable Business said:

“At BT we believe that a connected society is a better society. The internet helps you connect with family, community, education and healthcare services. However, there are still almost six million people in the UK who don’t have access to the internet. We’re working to change that.

“We founded the Tech4Good Awards with AbilityNet to find and support people who are using technology to help those who need it most. Over the last six years we’ve been amazed at how innovative people can be, and the incredible power of communications to make a better world”.

The awards have now grown to include a ‘Tech4Good for Africa Award’ sponsored by Comic Relief. This new category reflects the growing number of entries in past years from tech projects developed for Africa, including last year’s BT Young Pioneer Award winners eWATERPay.

The eWATERPay system, designed and created by Jack Hygate, Connor Humphreys and Laurence Bu-Rashid, all pupils at Park House School, Newbury, enables water pumps installed in African villages to be effectively monitored and maintained for the first time ever.

More details about all the past winners can be found at:  www.tech4goodawards.com/winners

2017 entries are open until 5.00 pm on 08 May and anyone can nominate themselves or someone else in any of the categories.

The AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2017 categories are:

• AbilityNet Accessibility Award
• BT Connected Society
• BT Young Pioneer
• Comic Relief Tech4Good for Africa Award
• Community Impact
• Digital Health Award
• Digital Skills Award
• Tech Volunteer of the Year

This year there will be a networking event for finalists on 13 June and the winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony hosted by BT on 11 July at BT Centre, London.

Judges include business people, charities, academics and journalists and others with specialist knowledge of how technology is used for social good.

The Awards are organised by AbilityNet Head of Marketing and Communications, Mark Walker. He said:

“AbilityNet's Tech4Good Awards celebrate the amazing people who use digital technology to make the world a better place for other people.

“These awards celebrate their success and share their stories to inspire others, whilst recognising entrants’ hard work and creativity. “Over the past six years we've seen some amazing examples of how people have been inspired to make positive changes in the world through using technology.

“These have included everything from a kit that helps people with asthma to understand, diagnose and medicate for the condition, to an app that allows sex workers to alert one another of dangerous perpetrators of crime.

“It’s never easy for our judging panel of technology, charity and business specialists to pick the winners from a host of incredible entries.

“And this year we're looking forward to seeing another large batch of high-quality entries that showcase how people are using technology for good.

“But the deadline for nominations is 08 May so make sure you get your entry in now!”

To enter the awards visit: http://www.tech4goodawards.com/

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