Techie Competition $50,000 in awards!

Four governmental agencies. Over 175 data sets. $50,000 in awards. Real time technical assistance. Connecting communities with software developers.

The Apps for Metro Chicago, IL competition is an unprecedented #opengov software challenge.

The Data | The Awards

We invite software developers, community groups, businesses and individuals to build apps that solve problems and improve services in Metro Chicago. Our goal in this three-phased competition is to increase government transparency by facilitating the building of software applications that are creative, useful, and designed for long-term impact.

Apps for Metro Chicago, Illinois is the first apps competition to be a collaborative effort among four governmental agencies. The City of Chicago, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Cook County, and the State of Illinois are together providing an exceptional amount of open data, an unprecedented amount of technical assistance and unique efforts to help software developers team up with community organizations to build useful apps.

Any and all software applications are eligible as long as they are for a platform widely available to the public like the web, smart phones, and SMS.

Support for this competition comes from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, the Motorola Mobility Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust.

Teen Talent Competition

P.O.E.T. (People of Extraordinary Talent) /JEM Productions is a non-for profit organization. Our mission statement is to touch one heart and one mind at a time. We are networking with local schools to host what we call the P.O.E.T. Teen Idol. We believe this will help encourage the youth to improve their writing skills and develop effective public speaking skills while showcasing their talent. Our motto is I am artistic truth, freedom of expression, creativity and life. I am a P.O.E.T. This competition will be run just like the reality show "American Idol". This consists of two stages: ~ Workshop/ Sound check April 14 at the Redemption Theater ~ Competition Sunday April 17, 2011 The students will be competing for the title “P.O.E.T. Teen Idol” as well as an opportunity to open up for Blaq Ice Productions / P.O.E.T. Spoken word concert “Heirs to the Throne” to be held on Saturday November 18, 2011 . The competition will be held on April 17, 2011, closing out our Teen Workshop Weekend at the Redemption Theater. P.O.E.T. will provide the judges and staff for both stages. We are asking for school cooperation and support in promoting this event. We understand the time is short and the school year is coming to a closed in a few months. We look forward to teaming up and having a successful, fun event. questions and to register please contact Toy McCray at 708 267-9725, 1pm-6pm. toyannmccray@yahoo.com Deadline for all registration forms will be April 13, 2011.