Brazilian app Colab wins AppMyCity! Prize for world’s best urban app

• Colab founders from Recife and São Paulo were awarded the 5,000USD cash prize at New Cities Summit, São Paulo
• Winner of the Prize selected by Summit audience following presentations by the 3 finalists
• The 2 runners up are BuzzJourney from Kfar-Saba, Israel, and PublicStuff from New York City

São Paulo – June 10, 2013. At the New Cities Summit today, the audience of high-level urban innovators and entrepreneurs voted Colab, a Brazilian mobile application, as winner of the 5,000 USD AppMyCity! Prize for the world’s best urban app.

Colab creates social networks to encourage better citizenship. It utilizes photos and geolocation to connect smart citizens to smart cities based on three pillars of interaction: citizens reporting daily urban issues; elaborating and proposing new projects and solutions; and evaluating public services. 

The app’s five founders, Bruno Aracaty, Gustavo Maia, Paulo Pandolfi, Josemando Sobral and Vitor Guedes, from Recife and São Paulo, claimed the 5000USD Prize. Colab competed against two other mobile apps, from the USA and Israel.

All three finalists were required to present their project to the international audience at the New Cities Summit in their final bid to win the Prize. At the end of presentations, the audience voted for their favorite.

Gustavo Maia, co-founder of Colab, said: “Colab is completely thrilled and honored to win the AppMyCity! Prize. It was very exciting to present our social network for citizenship to global leaders and compete with such amazing apps from all over the World. We thank the New Cities Foundation and everyone personally involved in the organization of the New Cities Summit. We hope to keep moving forward, promoting a new form of democracy, in which smart citizens are the cornerstones of the development of smart cities!”

Adrienne St. Aubin, Public Policy and Government Relations Analyst at Google and member of the AppMyCity! Judging Panel, said: "Colab is a powerful example of how technology can build vibrant cities and encourage participation on one of the issues that matters most to citizens. As Colab’s win illustrates, the AppMyCity! Prize showcases many examples of how innovators around the world are building tools that connect people to government, to big issues, and to each other."

Mathieu Lefevre, Executive Director of the New Cities Foundation and member of the AppMyCity! Judging Panel, said: “Colab truly epitomizes AppMyCity!’s motto: mobile apps make good cities great. By connecting people to their local governments and their fellow citizens in new ways, this app has the potential to revolutionize urban governance. Through this focus on the role of the individual citizen, Colab reiterates the importance of the theme of this year’s Summit: The Human City. The New Cities Foundation is proud to celebrate Colab’s current contributions to cities and recognize its potential for further innovation. The New Cities team joins me in congratulating Colab on its win.”

The two runners up were:

BuzzJourney, represented by Lior Harsat from Kfar-Saba, Israel. BuzzJourney is a mobile application that allows users to map out efficient transportation options by blending transportation modes: walking, driving, and public transport. The app also facilitates car-sharing, thus promoting environmentally-friendly urban mobility.

PublicStuff, represented by Lily Liu from New York City. PublicStuff is a mobile application dedicated to making citizen concerns more visible to local governments. The app transparently communicates public inquiries submitted on cell phones, laptops, and tables to civic leaders, encouraging timely and meaningful community improvements. PublicStuff announced its expansion into Brazil through collaboration with Urbanias and the city of Botucatu at the New Cities Summit.

Submission and Judging Processs

In total, the New Cities Foundation received 98 submissions for the AppMyCity! Prize 2013. An international panel of expert judges voted on the ability of these apps to create widespread impact through their innovative concepts and helpful user interface. The semi-finalists were announced on April 29 and the three finalists on May 13.

To find out more visit www.appmycity.org and www.newcitiessummit2013.org

Ends

International press contact:

Sua Son
Press Assistant
New Cities Foundation
sson@newcitiesfoundation.org
33 (0)6 17 79 17 72

About the AppMyCity! Prize

Judging Panel
For further information on the judges, visit www.appmycity.org.

AppMyCity! Prize Timeline - 2013

Submission Deadline: April 26, 2013Semi-finalist Announcement: April 30, 2013Finalist Announcement: May 7, 2013

The AppMyCity! Prize is organized by the New Cities Foundation

With the support of: Google

International media partner: The Atlantic Cities

About the New Cities Foundation

The New Cities Foundation is a leading global platform for innovation and high-level exchange on the future of the urban world. Working to create more dynamic, sustainable, just and creative cities with a special focus on rapidly urbanizing regions, the Foundation fosters urban innovations and new partnerships among government, business, the research community and civil society.

The New Cities Foundation hosts a number of leadership events on cities including its flagship event, the New Cities Summit, an annual invitation-only gathering bringing together around 1,000 of the world’s most senior decision makers, mayors, leading CEOs, innovators, entrepreneurs, architects and thinkers. The 2013 New Cities Summit will take place in São Paulo, Brazil from June 4 -6, 2013.

In parallel, the Foundation’s research wing, the Urban (co)LAB, manages a number of applied urban research projects including NCF Task Forces and thought-leadership activities. Two Task Forces are currently under way, including one in the area of e-health in Rio de Janeiro.

A non-profit, private organization, the New Cities Foundation was created in 2010 and is financed entirely by its members, which include some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies, universities, cities and city organizations. The New Cities Foundation’s founding members are Cisco, Ericsson and GE. The Foundation is based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

For more information about the New Cities Foundation, please visit: www.newcitiesfoundation.org

For more information about the New Cities Summit, please visit: www.newcitiessummit2013.org

Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundationTwitter #AppMyCity: @newcitiesfound