Winners get tablet, free Internet and chance to travel to Doha, Qatar

A young Belizean innovator could get to fly to Doha, Qatar, in November, to participate in ITU Telecomm World if that person is able to come up with a winning mobile app which holds enough promise for helping to improve some important facet of the economy.

“Why can’t the next Bill Gates [Microsoft founder] or Mark Zuckerberg [the originator of Facebook] come from Belize? We don’t think we should limit ourselves with respect to what we can accomplish,” said John Avery, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

At the Ramada Hotel this morning, PUC officials unveiled their latest initiative – one which they hope will bring on-board as many as 45 young people who will attend the Mobile Application Development Workshop and Competition, planned for August 18-22, 2014. The work of the participants will be judged at the end of the workshop, and each member of two groups which create a winning mobile app will receive a tablet and free Internet for a year.

It’s an all-expense paid event, but spaces will be limited to 15 persons from the Belize District and 30 from the remaining 5 districts.

Avery – who stressed the need for Belizeans to become content producers and not mere content consumers – said that the mobile app market could become a very big market for Belize, and he hopes that the youth will start the trend of Belizeans creating their own apps. As for the economic potential, Avery said that if an app sold for $2 is downloaded 50,000 times, that translates into an income of $100,000.

“The idea is for people to come up with solutions,” said Avery, who also announced that this year’s mobile app challenge is the launch of what the PUC intends to be an annual innovation event.

Carla Maheia-Hart, PUC Commissioner, said that the event will feature the development of apps to promote innovation that will assist the economy, in the hope that they will draw out Belizean talent. Roosevelt Blades, who is also a PUC Commissioner, said that the PUC is trying to ensure that it has participants from throughout the country.

The PUC is targeting students ages 12-18. Interested youth can send their applications to Mrs. Deseree Arzu at the PUC (at [email protected]) or Ruel Cima at the Ministry of Education ([email protected]) by the end of July.

Avery announced that the name of the person who wins the competition will be submitted for participation in the ITU competition later this year.

He said that they are also looking for chaperones for the workshop participants, and he is making an appeal particularly to IT teachers, who, he said, will also benefit from the workshop, being held in collaboration with BrightPath Foundation of the U.S.

Avery said that basic computer knowledge is all that is required, as the facilitators are industry specialists who will mentor and guide them through this process. Participants will only need to bring their personal items, such as clothing, and some pocket change.

If a workshop participant concludes the training with an app that has commercial possibilities, the PUC will support and encourage the app creator, since the PUC’s hope is that the participants in the workshop and competition will be able to tap into a niche by developing a fully functional app.

According to Avery, ITU chooses 10 persons each year to fly to the country hosting the ITU’s Telecom World. This year, it is Qatar, in the Middle East.

ITU said that the venue for this year’s event is the Qatar National Conference Centre (QNCC) – a world-class, state-of-the-art venue located close to the central business district of Doha on the Qatar Foundation’s education and research campus.