The winners of the World Summit Awards have today been announced and InternetNZ is delighted to hear that New Zealand has come up trumps in three categories. The World Summit Awards showcase the world’s best practice in digital innovation.
From a vast 86 counties, this year’s awards had 386 nominations. InternetNZ is a long term sponsor of the Awards and Chief Executive Jordan Carter is ecstatic that New Zealand has done so well. “Six New Zealand companies were recognised for their innovative work and named as finalists,” Carter says.
“To come up with three local winners in these international awards is heart-warming and a real testament to the advancement of the work we do with information and communication technology.”
The three New Zealand winners were from the categories of health and environment; business and commerce; and inclusion and empowerment. The winners are:
- ARANZ Medical (Health & Environment) ARANZ Medical’s 3D scanning and information systems gives a voice to patients suffering chronic wounds and amputations by bringing to light the true status of their wound healing progress and skin dimensions during assessment. Innovations include Silhouette, an FDA-approved electronic wound assessment system, and FastSCAN II, a 3D scanning system for orthotics and prosthetics. ARANZ Medical’s mission is to use their skill in structured light technology and IT to equip researchers and clinicians alike with knowledge that will empower them to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide, including high risk groups such as diabetes sufferers and the elderly. Further information is available at: www.aranzmedical.com
- AttitudeLive (Inclusion & Empowerment) In 2005 Attitude Pictures launched as a media company with the sole purpose of producing factual television content for and about people living with disabilities. The real life stories change attitudes towards disabled people and in turn promote inclusion. In eleven years of production Attitude has made over 400 documentaries and filmed in more than 25 countries. In 2013 it launched its web platform AttitudeLive as a way to share and distribute its library of content with the world and build connections for the disability community. Further information is available at: www.AttitudeLive.com
- Wipster (Business & Commerce) Wipster is a cloud-based SaaS application. The idea for Wipster was borne in 2013 when filmmaker Rollo Wenlock became increasingly frustrated with the fractured video review process. With a singular focus on creating a beautifully designed, intuitive video review and approval experience for anyone creating video, Wipster has carved out a niche in this emerging category. Reviews are accelerated by 65%, and what was once a tedious process becomes a streamlined workflow. Pinpoint commenting offers a fun and intuitive way to chat to each other about work-in-progress where it makes sense - right on top of the video. wipster.io
InternetNZ congratulates ARANZ, Wipster and AttitudeLive for these honourable awards and says the awards show real recognition of the uniqueness of digital innovation with social impact.
“We also want to acknowledge the other three companies who were made finalists in the World Summit Awards. Figure.NZ, Pond from Network for Learning and Ngā Tapuwae Gallipoli were rightly named as finalists,” says Carter.
“All six companies have made New Zealand very proud and have successfully showcased the great work that New Zealand can produce and offer the world," says Carter. Amid 40 projects from 24 countries, the three local winners will be honoured with the World Summit Award. In front of UN representatives, ICT ministries and the private sector they will receive their Awards at the World Summit Global Congress in Shenzhen, China, in February 2016.
WSA Chairman Peter Bruck says the WSA recognises innovation of tomorrow, today. He states this year’s winners are an excellent selection of this momentum, matching local solutions to local needs. Shenzhen will offer the special stage to highlight these masters of innovation.
For more information please contact InternetNZ's Communications Lead,
Megan Bartrum, on 04 495 2332, 027 2591425 or email megan@internetnz.net.nz
- ARANZ Medical (Health & Environment)
- AttitudeLive (Inclusion & Empowerment)
- Wipster (Business & Commerce)
- Figure.NZ (Government & Open Data) Figure.NZ (formerly Wiki New Zealand) is truly democratizing data. Figure.NZ takes the bold and unique stance that everyone can be a user of data, and that technology and systems should be designed to deliver to that standard. Figure.NZ has developed a platform to do this – it brings together and standardises data from the public sector, private sector and academia, and it provides it in formats that make it usable, fun and easy for everyone – from experienced users to children. Further information is available at: Figure.NZ
- Pond, from N4L (Network for Learning) (Learning & Science) N4L is being recognised for its innovative work in education by creating an active e-learning community for educators. Pond makes learning resources more accessible to the education community (especially those buried deep in archives or otherwise unavailable via public search engines); and fosters collaboration among educators, enabling them to have an impact beyond their school walls, so they can share their talents, best-practices, and resources with the wider sector.www.n4l.co.nz
- Ngā Tapuwae Gallipoli (Culture & Tourism) The Ngā Tapuwae Gallipoli app effectively uses modern technology to inform and enlighten travellers about New Zealand’s participation in the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. It is a multi-media interactive app that guides travellers to the actual locations where New Zealanders fought, while also being informative for those with a general interest in New Zealand’s history at Gallipoli. Further information is available at: ngatapuwae.govt.nz
