ShareTheMeal App Wins SXSW Interactive Innovation Award
ROME – The ShareTheMeal app, developed by the United Nations World Food Programme, won an Interactive Innovation Award in the “New Economy” category at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
The award honours the most inspiring and creative innovations in the digital world, and ShareTheMeal was chosen among hundreds of submissions within the category by a panel of industry peers and experts.
"We are thrilled to be recognized as one of the world's most promising innovations," said Sebastian Stricker, who heads the ShareTheMeal project. "This award is a strong reminder that technology can change lives and that people around the globe truly believe we can achieve zero hunger by working together."
ShareTheMeal is WFP’s first fundraising and awareness-raising app. Free to download, it makes donating more “social” and more effective. Smartphone users can follow the progress of fundraising efforts through the app and see where the community has already helped. Users can choose to give whenever they like, such as when they are having lunch.
After a successful campaign for Syrian refugee children in Jordan, the community of app users are now helping mothers, children and mums-to-be in the war-torn Syrian city of Homs.
ShareTheMeal was launched globally in November 2015. Through the app, smartphone users can donate to selected WFP programmes. The suggested donations start at US$0.50, which is WFP’s global average for providing vital daily nutrition during emergencies. So far, close to 500,000 users worldwide have provided the equivalent of almost 5 million meals.
The SXSW Interactive Festival, featuring cutting-edge technologies and new developments in
the digital world, took place in Austin, Texas, from March 11–15, 2016.
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The app is available for download at this link. Hi-res photos of the app are available for download here.
ShareTheMeal allows smartphone users to share their meals with hungry people via a free iOS and Android app. ShareTheMeal was founded in April 2014 and is an initiative of the WFP Innovation Accelerator. Since November 2015, the app has been available globally and has received several awards for its design and innovative character. Google named ShareTheMeal one of the Best Apps of 2015. Learn more at sharethemeal.org
WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media, @ShareTheMealorg
For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Katharina Weltecke, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65133108, Mob. +49 172 4105677
Jane Howard, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65132321, Mob. +39 346 7600521
Gregory Barrow, WFP/London, Tel. +44 20 72409001, Mob. +44 7968 008474
Bettina Luescher, WFP/Geneva, Tel. +41 22 917 8564, Mob. + 41-79-842-8057
Steve Taravella, WFP/Washington DC, Tel. +1 202 653 1149, Mob. +1 202 770 5993