CityBugs.am, the website and social media application that allows citizens to report “bugs” in their community to municipal authorities, is among the winners of the European Youth Award 2014.
Competing against 130 submissions, CityBugs was one of seven initiatives that caught the eye of the jury. The projects were evaluated on technical criteria (initiative, innovation, design, content, interactivity), and strategic criteria (the impact and social value of the project). The Citybugs web platform or mobile app allows users to report issues in their respective cities such as garbage removal, health care problems, missing crosswalk signs, street lighting or infrastructure for the disabled.
This year’s competition was titled “Digital Creativity for Social Good” and focuses on European challenges and priorities defined by the Council of Europe and the EU Strategy 2020, and how they can be achieved through integrated technology.
The winners will attend the EYA Festival on November 19-22, in Graz, Austria, where the Grand Jury will select one winner after seeing the candidate presentations. They will also be expected to participate in an interactive conference with international creative thinkers ICT experts, and business and opinion leaders.
Last August, Civilnet interviewed Arman Atoyan, founder-director of X-Tech, which created CityBugs, during an episode of “Hidden People.” Atoyan said that CityBugs has impacted the city positively as City Hall has taken the complaints seriously and begun correcting the “bugs.” Gyumri, Vanadzor, Armavir, and Toronto, Canada have also adopted this project for their cities due to its positive outcome.
