Congratulations to the Winners of the San Diego App Challenge!
BUDI is proud to announce the winners of our first ever app challenge. The Mission Bay High School Youth Advocates presented a creative design that captures the spirit of the competition –promoting a holistic approach to health. Not only was it creative but was also fun!
Wellness Check promotes a sober lifestyle in those who have not yet begun to regularly consume alcohol and act as a resource to help those who drink moderately or those in recovery. The app is designed as an ‘idle game’ in which players can set specific goals and track their progress toward achieving them. The reward system embedded in the app helps players make healthy choices.
The app will also help benefit vulnerable groups such as the blind and deaf communities by adding audio that reads out any text that is written on the screen and having closed captioning for any audio that is played.
The next step is to take this great concept and have it built into a fully functioning app. If you are a developer looking for a fun and rewarding project, then we are a group looking for you! Please contact us at sdappchallenge@publicstrategies.org.
The Challenge
Can you imagine how technology can improve the health and well-being of people and communities?
The Binge and Underage Drinking Initiative in San Diego County invites all creative and/or technology-inspired contestants from across the county to participate in the SAN DIEGO APP CHALLENGE.
This contest challenges you to think of what it means for individuals to lead a vibrant and healthy life where everyone can thrive; or for communities to promote healthy social, economic, and physical environments.
How, then, do we go about accomplishing this?
Although we are interested in ideas that tackle a holistic approach to positive health and well-being in general, we are especially interested in ideas that support those who haven’t started drinking to not start drinking, and encourages those who are drinking to reduce their drinking.
We are big advocates of the ‘sober curious movement’ and welcome ideas that support people who want to evaluate their relationship with alcohol.
It DOESN’T matter what kind of background or level of expertise you have in creating apps! Maybe you are in public health and know more about disease or human behavior, less about technology………we can help you with that!
Or maybe you are a software engineer who doesn’t know the best way to promote wellness or prevent disease or unhealthy behaviors……..we can point you in the right direction!
What DOES matter is your creativity and innovation in designing a user-friendly app with broad appeal.
Why build an app about public health?
Because, according to Benjamin Franklin, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
We are all susceptible to illnesses, injury, and diseases (hello, COVID-19!), whether it is because of genetics, the environment, or lifestyle choices.
But if we could make it convenient to find healthy resources in our neighborhoods, track our health goals, or join a community of personal champions, then we will have accomplished a major tenet of public health – #PREVENTIONWORKS!
Speaking of COVID-19… our team was inspired to create this challenge because we are all experiencing ways in which our physical and mental health are being challenged. So we decided to “rewrite the story” – evaluate our own habits and vices and look at ways to improve our own physical and mental stamina so that we come out of this stronger than ever.
General Timeline
Eligibility and Submission Requirements
Anyone living in San Diego County is welcome to compete as long as the app is designed for youth and/or young adults.
Since this challenge is hosted by the Binge and Underage Drinking Initiative, all submissions need to address the problems of drinking alcohol when underage and the problems with drinking too much once someone is 21 or older. The app should encourage people to moderate their alcohol consumption if they are of drinking age and to encourage those underage or who haven’t started drinking to not start drinking in the first place.
You can do this by embracing the ‘sober curious’ movement within your app, for example, or whatever creative way you come up with.
Media
The Contestants
Pending Applications
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
Anybody with an imagination! The challenge is open to all San Diego County residents – young, old, student, hobbyist, or professional – with a vision for health and safety within ourselves or in our communities. No programming experience necessary!
Right now! You have until December 31, 2020 to register. Visit the registration page on the San Diego App Challenge website. Easy peasy.
We encourage teamwork on this challenge, but you can register as an individual if you wish!
Of course! Young, old, student, professional… it doesn’t matter to us! But we bet you will learn something by participating in this challenge!
Your app should be appealing to teens and/or young adults.
Stay tuned to updates to the website as we set that up for you.
The ideas and its objective(s) should be fully developed. The app itself does not have to be.
We are looking for sketches, diagrams, written descriptions or even a short video that details the technical aspects of your app. Of course, the more detail, the better. Don’t forget to think about how your app will look. You may want to run your idea by a friend, classmate or colleague to see if it passes the “user-friendly” test.
Do bragging rights count?!
You’ll have to talk to your teacher. We have spoken with a number of instructors who teach app design and have set up the challenge to make that a possibility. That being said, your instructor has the final say.
Check out our resources page for more information and tutorials about different applications that can help you design your app. Just click on the Contestants tab to find these resources.
