This category is about physical wellbeing and helping people with health conditions to lead happy, fulfilled lives. Fifty percent of Europeans are overweight, one in five is obese.¹ Diseases such as diabetes, hepatitis and metabolic disorders are on the rise. Economic and social barriers frequently hinder access to medical treatment. Healthy Life initiatives involving digital technologies promote and support e.g. healthcare, curative and medical treatments, an active lifestyle or a balanced diet. They may, for example, employ smart health devices to treat medical conditions efficiently, raise awareness for neglected diseases or encourage sports and physical exercise among communities.

This category is about finding new, creative approaches to education and learning. Many high schools and universities report tremendous drop-out rates and a social education-gap remains reality in most countries. Smart Learning innovations may, for example, provide free-access training courses, foster ICT competence, create scientific understanding, support international knowledge exchange, or open up new capacities for scientific research. This also includes tools boosting learners’ motivation to study like infotainment games, platforms for open-access education or other digital solutions for making scientific progress beneficial to all.

United in diversity has to be more than just a motto! Projects submitted to Connecting Cultures may promote and support e.g. multilinguism, understanding and knowledge of different cultures and communities, creation of new contemporary forms of culture but also the preservation of indigenous knowledge and traditions. The category is also open for creative websites or apps facilitating sustainable and safe travel by giving up-to-date travel information, supporting orientation in cities and countryside or enhancing intermodal use of public transportation. Connecting Cultures projects may also foster communication beyond borders or generations.

This category comprises environmentally friendly solutions for the benefit of our world. Vanishing natural resources, skyrocketing energy consumption, unresolved waste issues and accelerated climate change are among today’s most pressing challenges. Go Green innovations are ecologically beneficial, have a positive impact on our environment or foster a responsible and sustainable attitude towards nature. This can, for example, be achieved by showing new ways to conserve biodiversity, increase energy efficiency, harness renewable resources, prolong product-cycles or reduce CO2 emission. This category includes also mobility innovations or finding digital solutions for smart cities, sustainable agriculture or the “greening” of societies and economies.

This category is about exposing injustice and fighting social exclusion. While individual privacy seems on the decline, multinational deals tend to become more obscure. Many European countries still score high on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Also discrimination due to age, race, gender, ethnicity and sexuality is still an issue in most places. Active Citizenship projects may be honest examples of participatory journalism or fight for transparent policy making and the right to free speech. They may also encourage political participation, create awareness for human rights and support community building.

This category looks for solutions that enhance economic understanding, fight poverty and help people to make a decent living. Almost one in four European youths is unemployed.² Also with growing income gaps, many working people struggle to make ends meet. Money Matters wants innovations that create opportunities for social commerce, reduce unemployment or illustrate how money works. This, for example, includes innovative career counselling, responsible spending, fair trade, taxation and banking, crowd funding and microcredits, as well as initiatives that create and support a startup friendly economic environment.

This category is for all the unusual, crazy, digital projects that don’t fit in any of the other categories but still have a strong impact on society. Digital projects submitted in the Open Innovation category can be, for example, funny games, artistic apps or digital contemporary arts projects. However, the goals of Open Innovation applications should be to improve society or reflect and raise awareness for social grievances.