The Stockholm Challenge -- an international IT competition -- today began releasing finalists in the 2006 awards program, beginning with the categories of Health, Environment and Public Administration. There is also a separate category the WSIS Challenge Award for African projects.
Winners of the Stockholm Challenge receive these trophies made from recycled computer monitorsThe public administration category has 23 finalists from 15 countries, that range in scope from Mexico's Digital Government Strategy and the U.S. Government's
FirstGov.gov Web portal, to Computers on Wheels, a project from India that delivers wireless Internet connectivity by motorcycle to 21 remote villages, and
Dialog With the Grassroots, a combination of radio and Internet connectivity between isolated communities in the Himalayas.
The winners will receive their awards in Stockholm City Hall at a ceremony on May 11.
Wayne E. Hanson served as a writer and editor with e.Republic from 1989 to 2013, having worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and Digital Communities. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education.