Longford students win award for App idea to support people experiencing poverty
Students from Longford were among the prize winners in Ireland’s national creative thinking programme The Big Idea.
Team Immoderate at Mercy Secondary School, Ballymahon won the Hidden Poverty award for their development of an idea for confidential App ‘Incognation’ to build an online community and provide information, resources and support for people experiencing poverty.
The students, under the guidance of teachers Rachel Beirne and Niall Finneran, will progress to a B!G Idea accelerator in September, where they can develop their idea further with industry experts.
The Big Idea is delivered through the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) and Transition Year (TY) programmes, as well as an expanded pilot Youthreach and Community Training Centre (CTC) programme.
It was delivered across 22 counties this year, with a successful pilot programme trialled in Northern Ireland.
Students were tasked with working through the four Ds of the creative process – discover, define, develop and deliver - focusing on solutions for issues they identified as major stressors in their lives.
These were mental health, climate change, hidden poverty, displaced people, and diversity and inclusion, all aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With the help of hundreds of Big Idea mentors from a range of sectors, they develop a digital experience, product, service, space or place, or a tech solution to tackle that issue.
The Big Exhibition which includes every project submitted this year is now live at thebigidea.ie, where schools and mentors can also sign up for the next term.