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There is just a month left to enter the Vodafone Foundation Smart Accessibility Awards and be in with a chance to win a share of a €200,000 prize fund for the best smartphone app to help older people and people with disabilities.

The competition, now in its second year, will close to new entries on Monday, 15 October 2012 and culminate in an award ceremony in early December at which four winners will each be presented with a cheque for €50,000. The four award categories include: social participation; independent living; mobility and wellbeing. Entries should be submitted to http://developer.vodafone.com/smartaccess2012/home/

The judges are drawn from the organising partners: Vodafone Foundation, AGE Platform Europe – the European network of around 160 organisations of and for people aged 50+ – and the European Disability Forum (EDF), the NGO that represents the interests of 80 million Europeans with disabilities.

Last year, the winning apps included (see them here):

• A screen of icons which represent key phrases and can be read out using text-to-speech technology. It also allows users to send an emergency text message – with their location – to a pre-defined contact text-to-speech service;
• An online map of wheelchair accessibility in public places as well as the ability to post a review;
• A video magnifier for people who have dyslexia, colour blindness or other visual impairments, and
• An alternative big-button, colour-based home-screen optimised for elderly users and those with impaired sight.

The Smart Accessibility Awards are part of the Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Mobile for Good’ programme which supports initiatives around the world which use mobile technology to drive positive social change. The awards are helping to extend the smartphone revolution to as many communities as possible.