MCIT announces opening of applications for ‘World Summit Awards 2023’ competition

The upcoming ‘World Summit Awards 2023’ competition would be an opportunity for Qatar to showcase the country’s achievements in the field of digital technology, a Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has said.The MCIT announced yesterday that registration is now open for individuals, companies, and local institutions who wish to nominate their best digital projects and applications for the WSA 2023 competition.Reem Mohamed al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development at MCIT, said: "We are pleased to announce the opening of the application process for the World Summit Awards 2023. This prestigious competition encourages the power of digital innovation and its transformative impact on society."Based on this, we encourage companies, institutions, and individuals across Qatar to seize this important opportunity and submit their projects to be showcased and shared as Qatari projects and talents on the global stage. This is to inspire the world with our digital achievements and propel the digital landscape in the country to new heights.”To represent Qatar’s projects globally, interested parties can submit their applications until August 30, 2023, by sending their information and business details to MCIT via wsa@mcit.gov.qaThe WSA 2023 includes eight categories: ‘Government and Citizen Engagement’, ‘Health and Well-being’, ‘Environment and Green Energy’, ‘Business and Commerce’, ‘Learning and Education’, ‘Culture and Heritage’, ‘Smart Settlements and Urbanisation’, and ‘Inclusion and Empowerment’.Applicants can submit their work in these categories if their submissions comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits any content that incites war, violence, or racial discrimination, and does not violate internationally recognised copyright and intellectual property rights.The judging committee reserves the right to reject any submissions that contravene the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Once applications are received, a local judging committee consisting of experts and leaders from MCIT will review and evaluate the submitted works and projects. The committee will then select one qualified candidate from each of the eight award categories to represent Qatar internationally.The competition includes representatives from 168 countries from different continents around the world and consists of four stages. The first stage is pre-selection in each country, where a national committee from the participating countries selects the top eight projects in each competition category (one from each category).The second is the evaluation of applications and projects and a nomination for the selection stage through an online judging committee. The third is the final evaluation of applications and projects submitted by all participating countries takes place through the grand jury, which consists of prominent experts in this field. They will evaluate the projects submitted by all participating countries and select the top 40 projects (five from each category).The fourth and final stage is the WSA events are held, where the winners of the competition will gather to showcase their projects, celebrate international digital innovation, and meet with business leaders, experts, and specialists in the field of information technology.The WSA aims to reduce the digital gap among countries worldwide by promoting the best emerging digital companies and innovative applications that effectively and creatively impact cultural, scientific, and educational content digitisation.It strives to increase awareness and recognition of impactful digital content within society by creating continuous forums of international events and activities that bring together a global network of startups, social entrepreneurs, directors, jurors, speakers, experts, government leaders, academics, and civil society.