Public Service Announcement
Public voting for Apps4Halifax People’s Choice Award begins today
Monday, December 2, 2013 (Halifax, NS) – HRM wants to know which HRM-focused applications entered in the Apps4Halifax Open Data Contest you’ll be downloading to your computer or mobile device.
Public voting for the People’s Choice Awards in the Apps4Halifax Open Data Contest begins today and runs until January 6, 2014. Residents are invited to visit www.apps4halifax.ca to try out the apps and then choose their favourite in each category through an online vote, giving the app developers a chance to win 1 of 4 $1,000 cash prizes. The People’s Choice Award winners will be announced on January 8, 2014.
Thirty-eight (38) apps were entered in the app development contest, which closed on Friday, November 29. To be eligible, apps had to have used at least one dataset from HRM’s Open Data Catalogues and fit within at least one of the four categories: Keep ‘er Movin’, Live it Up, Go Green or Your City. There will be five cash prizes awarded in each category for a total of $44,000: Gold - $5,000, Silver - $3,000, Bronze - $1,000, Top Student App - $1,000, and People’s Choice - $1,000. The contest is open to all Nova Scotia residents and full contest rules are on the contest website. Students and startup companies who built an app using Esri Canada’s ArcGIS technology are also eligible to enter the Maps in Apps Student and Startup challenges for a chance to win additional prize packages.
The Apps4Halifax contest was created to encourage public engagement and inspire the development of user-friendly applications for Nova Scotia citizens using HRM open data. The Open Data Pilot, launched earlier this year at www.halifaxopendata.ca, enables public viewing and use of a selection of HRM datasets free of charge for a 12-month period.
The Halifax Regional Municipality wishes to acknowledge and extend sincere thanks to our sponsors of Apps4Halifax: IBM, Esri Canada, Telus, Global Halifax, Metro News, Live 105, The Hub Halifax, Saint Mary’s University, McInnes Cooper, National Public Relations, Socrata, Open Text, The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites, The Foggy Goggle, Estia Restaurant, the Spring Garden Area Business Association, World Trade and Convention Centre and Podcamp Halifax.
For more information about the Apps4Halifax contest, visit www.apps4Halifax.ca or follow @hfxgov on Twitter, #apps4hfx.
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Media Contact:
Jennifer Stewart
HRM Communications
490-5940
