The winning concept will now be brought to life by its creator and Sony’s R&D team!
After three months of concepting, collaboration and evaluation, Sony and WWF have today announced that the GreenBook concept by Paul Frigout has been selected as the final concept to be taken through to realisation from the innovative community platform, Open Planet Ideas.
Reinventing community activism to attract the Facebook generation, ‘GreenBook’ is a cross platform software application. Geo-location and social gaming techniques are used to create a new method of informal, 'flash mob' volunteering, where friends locate each other and congregate to work together on short tasks. Individuals can post their needs and offer their services, as well as make donations, sign e-petitions, get information, win rewards for participation and share their stories.
The decision was made after the expert panel investigated the shortlisted three entries, consulting with the creators and considering technical feasibility and potential for impact. Other shortlisted concepts included The Identifying & Recording Wildlife concept and the Network of Real-time Wireless Micro Weather Stations for Microclimate Monitoring.
Paul Frigout, also known as ‘Siniuc’ in the digital world, will now have the once in a lifetime chance to realise his concept working with Sony Europe’s R&D and design teams, WWF experts and members of the IDEO creative team.
Morgan David, head of Sony’s Broadcast & Professional Research Labs and member of the Open Planet Ideas expert panel, said: “We chose this idea because of its huge potential to bring people together and motivate participation. We believe GreenBook will breathe new life into the age old concept of volunteering through the application of cutting edge social technology. “
Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Corporate Relations Director at WWF International said: “We feel this is an exciting concept that will enable people to come together to support and give their time and energy to their local area and address some of the key environmental challenges that we are facing today.”
The intention is to develop and pilot the software with third parties and release it as a ‘white label’ application for any organisation to use. Initial feedback from volunteering organisations has already been very positive. For example volunteering charity TimeBank, welcomed the ‘Greenbank’ concept.
CEO of TimeBank Helen Walker, said: “At TimeBank we are committed to exploring ways of engaging new audiences in volunteering. This concept takes advantage of the increasing use of smart phones and the techniques used in social gaming to engage with a new generation of volunteers. This use of cutting edge, social networking technology could be a powerful tool to enable volunteering to become part of the fabric of everyday life, anywhere in the world.”
Open Planet Ideas received over 400 innovative concepts from budding designers across the world, all hoping their idea would be selected by the project’s panel of experts, as ‘the most innovative new way to use existing technology to help preserve our planet’s natural resources’.
