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18.
July
2018.
Winners Announced for AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2018

UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 17.00 HRS 17 JULY

PRESS RELEASE: Winners Announced for AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2018

The winners of the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2018 have been announced at the eighth annual awards ceremony in BT Centre, London.

The power of technology to transform the lives disabled people was as a strong theme for the Tech4Good Awards 2018.

This year's winners included Be My Eyes, an accessibility app that uses a smartphone to connect blind people with sighted volunteers, TapSOS an app originally designed for the Deaf community that provides a non-verbal way of contacting the Emergency Services and WaytoB a navigation aid for people with learning disabilities.

The Tech4Good Awards are organised by national charity AbilityNet and sponsored by BT and supported by charities and businesses including Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft and Tech Trust. The judging panel includes experts from the BBC, tech industry, charity and government.

These are the only awards to highlight the amazing people from charities, business and volunteers across who use digital technology to make the world a better place. Entry is free and open to any business, charity, individual or public body in the UK.

The awards took place at a ceremony on 17 July at BT Centre, London, where more than 200 people came together to celebrate these amazing people who use digital technology to make the world a better place for other people.

The AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2018 winners are:

AbilityNet Accessibility Award: Be My Eyes

BT Connected Society Award: Small Robot Company

BT Young Pioneer Award: Water Watcher

Comic Relief Tech4Good for Africa Award: Unlocking Talent Through Technology

Community Impact Award: Mind of My Own (MOMO)

Digital Health Award: TapSOS

Digital Skills Award: Generation Code

Digital Volunteer of the Year Award: Anna Holland Smith

Tech4Good People's Award: WaytoB

WaytoB was chosen as the winner of this award by the general public. The public were encouraged to read about each finalist and their entry on the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards website and vote for their choice for the People's Award by sending a tweet using a dedicated hashtag.

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

"This year we saw over 200 high-quality entries that showcase how people are using technology for good. 

"As always, judging the awards was a very tough task, with many worthy entries just missing on awards.

"And so we are delighted to announce these extremely worthy winners of the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards 2018.

"Congratulations to each and every one of them for their hard work and success. And commiserations to those who didn't win - they were all great entries, worthy of an award.

"These awards celebrate their success and share their stories to inspire others, whilst recognising all entrants' hard work and creativity.

"Each winner has truly used their passion for digital technology to change the lives of other people.

"We now look forward to seeing how our winners and the other entrants progress in future as they go on to shape the world and help others using digital technology."

-Ends-

 

Notes to editors

About AbilityNet

National charity AbilityNet has over 20 years' experience enabling people with disabilities to use technology to change their lives at home, at work and in education.  Globally acclaimed for its expertise in workplace disability management and digital accessibility AbilityNet works with clients in the private, public and voluntary sector including all major Departments of State and many FTSE top 100 indexed companies.  

The Charity's Patron is Baroness Martha Lane-Fox.

 

About BT

BT's purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.  BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

 

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

 

For more information, visit www.btplc.com.

 

For more details of the Awards visit:www.tech4goodawards.com

 

For media enquiries please contact:

Catherine Grinyer

Email: catherine@bigvoicecommunications.co.uk

Mobile: 07713 248387