Atos Announces ‘ICT 4 Inclusion Challenge’ - India Edition 2022

Atos announces the ICT 4 Inclusion Challenge (ICT4IC) India 2022. Following on from the ICT4IC Africa 2021 which saw winners from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa present innovative solutions to shape inclusive education for people with disabilities in Africa, the India edition will focus on the topic of “Mitigating the impact of climate change on people with disabilities”.

The competition is organized by Atos and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with the Make-IT Alliance. This year, two new cooperation partners will support the delivery of the challenge, Zero Project and Ability Foundation.

The aim of the ICT 4 Inclusion challenge is to develop digital and technical innovations which are designed to alleviate the impact of climate change and disaster related risks for people with disabilities and elderly people in India. This could be a mainstream solution or an accessibility & inclusion specific solution. For example, an energy efficient digital device or application, that is made disability inclusive or universally accessible; or a program that raises awareness around technology-based inclusive climate action and inclusive disaster risk reduction.

Nasir Shaikh, SVP, Head of Human Resources, Atos in India said “When it comes to thinking about solutions and innovation to manage climate disasters, we must not overlook people with disabilities and older people. The effects of climate change can put these individuals & communities at risk, which are already vulnerable in other ways. I am pleased that Atos and GIZ are again working together to offer individuals the opportunity to innovative and create solutions to support these groups of people here in India.”

Neil Milliken, VP - Global Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion at Atos said “I am delighted that we are able to build upon the success of our partnership with GIZ to launch this year’s challenge that aims to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental emergencies on people with disabilities and older people. These groups of people are often forgotten in planning and are most at risk. Technology can be a major part in ensuring their future safety”

Bernd Schramm, Head of GIZ’s Global Project Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, adds: “It’s wonderful that we continue our excellent cooperation with Atos and Make-IT in another round of the ICT4 Inclusion Challenge, this time also with Zero Project and Ability Foundation. Digital solutions for persons with disabilities are often a trigger for innovation. Mitigating the impact of climate change is one of the biggest development challenges. When we combine business and development solutions, we can save millions of lives among those groups that are hard to reach in conventional approaches.”

Entries are open now and entrants have until 31st July 2022 to submit their applications. 12 teams will be shortlisted, 2 targeted solutions focusing on disability inclusion and/or the inclusion of elderly people and 2 mainstream solutions with potential benefits for these target groups will be selected as final winners.

The 4 winning teams will be awarded during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with monetary prizes of EUR 3500 for the first and EUR 1500 for the second prize per category and soft prizes including nomination to the Atos Scaler Program. Finally, winners will also be invited to present their solutions to potential partners at the Zero Project India Conference in Spring 2023.

Accessibility and Digital Inclusion stand at the heart of Atos’ raison d’etre and materializes into Atos’ digital workplace portfolio, with diverse solutions helping companies for the inclusive digital transformation as well as Accessibility As A Service supporting people with situational, temporary or permanent disabilities to work without barriers in the digital workplace.

To enter now or find out more, please go to https://ict4inclusionchallenge.net/

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 111,000 employees and annual revenue of c. € 11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 71 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on Euronext Paris and included in the CAC 40 ESG and Next 20 indexes.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.