Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from Bindu Lohani, Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank.
Technology is playing an increasingly important role in how we think about solutions for global societal challenges. Take the apps revolution for a start. Apps are driving change at an incredibly fast pace - connecting millions more people to data and services. At the Asian Development Bank (ADB), we believe in the transformative power that apps will bring to citizens from all walks of life over the coming years.
This week, I am in India where ADB is holding its 46th Annual Meeting, and where we will recognize the “Apps For Asia: Redesigning Development” winners. Together with Microsoft, we’ve championed the Apps For Asia initiative, which aims to harness the creative power of hundreds of independent software developers across Asia and the Pacific to create apps that address societal challenges faced by governments, civil society and businesses in the region.
ADB provided guidance to program participants on the economic and social issues facing our 40 developing member countries and insight into their development priorities. The initiative was rolled out as a series of application training and development contests in Australia, India, Republic of Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, with the top three teams from each country exhibiting their apps at the annual meeting.
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