New Delhi, 9 October 2014: Today, Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the first Internet.org Summit in New Delhi, India. The summit supports Internet.org’s efforts to accelerate connectivity in India by addressing a variety of barriers to internet access, including the lack of relevant local content and services. Watch highlights of the keynote and follow along with updates from the summit.
A recent report by McKinsey & Company found that one of the leading barriers to internet adoption is the lack of relevant, local and multilingual content and services online.
Making sure everyone around the world has access to the internet requires companies, governments and individuals to work together to remove connectivity barriers. Fully realizing Internet.org’s vision of a connected world will require giving people access to apps, websites and services that are relevant to their lives and readable in their own languages.
Today the Internet.org Innovation Challenge in India was also announced, an effort to recognize those who are working to make the internet more relevant to four populations that are currently underserved in India: women, students, farmers and migrant workers.
These communities face some of the largest structural barriers to going online and the content they find once they are connected is often of little value.
Internet.org will be presenting four $250,000 USD (INR 1.52 crore) Innovation Challenge Award prizes: one to the leading app, website or service or idea that best meets the needs of each of the designated population categories. Two $25,000 USD (INR 15.26 lacs) Impact Award prizes will also be granted in each category.
Winners will be announced at Mobile World Congress in March 2015, and interested individuals, organizations and groups can submit applications through Jan. 31, 2015.
Apply for Innovation Challenge here.
