The Vodafone Foundation charity has launched the EU Smart Accessibility Awards, offering a €200,000 prize fund (around £176,000) to application developers who help improve the lives of older people and people with disabilities across the European Union.

There are €50,000 prizes for the best Android application in four different categories:

Social participation: applications that help users to participate actively in today’s society and benefit from the facilities that new technologies can offer.

Independent living: applications that help users to be more autonomous and perform daily tasks independently.

Mobility: applications that enable users to move around more freely and safely using the whole range of transport modes - or lets people use mobile devices to be guided in unknown environments.

Wellbeing: applications that improve the users’ health as well as providing an overall feeling of wellbeing.

The runs until 15th October 2011; it’s supported and organised by AGE Platform Europe and the European Disability Forum.

All qualifying entries will be evaluated in November by representatives from AGE Platform Europe, European Disability Forum and Vodafone Foundation. Twelve finalists will be selected to present their application before a judging panel in early December, when the four overall winners will be chosen.

Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary General of AGE Platform Europe, said “We are pleased to be involved in a project that supports our efforts towards building a more inclusive society. Digital inclusion is key to ensuring as many people as possible remain actively involved in their communities and we should make sure every citizen is empowered to do so, whatever their age or capacities. We hope this competition will help reach that goal and also contribute to the ‘European Year 2012 for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations’ where the objective is to increase older people’s active participation in society and promote independent living in old age.”