Apps for Good Açores Regional Meeting brought together young innovators at Ponta Delgada Regional Conservatory - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação, Cultura e Desporto

This week, the Ponta Delgada Regional Conservatory hosted the Regional Apps for Good  Açores Meeting, an initiative organised by the Regional Directorate for Education and Educational Administration (DREAE) as part of the implementation of the Apps for Good programme in schools across the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

In the 2026 edition, 11 teams from seven schools on the islands of São Miguel, Pico and Terceira are participating. The projects presented covered social, environmental, and educational areas, demonstrating young Azoreans' ability to identify challenges and propose innovative technological solutions.

Since the 2017/2018 academic year, this department has been developing the programme in partnership with CDI Portugal – Centre of Digital Inclusion, an NGO dedicated to social and digital inclusion and innovation, providing students with opportunities to develop digital, creative and entrepreneurial skills.

Apps for Good challenged teams of students from middle to secondary school to design mobile apps that address social needs identified in their communities, within the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Throughout the school year, participants worked on a project methodology divided into five stages, supported by an online platform.

The regional meetings are valuable opportunities to share and evaluate the projects developed, leading to the selection of the finalist teams that will represent the Region at the national event, usually held in September.

Among the solutions in competition were the following projects: Zen Sénior, from Canto da Maia Basic Education School; Encontra PET, from Capelas Basic Education School; Caritas Share, É Canja!!, Healthy Gamers, Mind Bloom and Floresta da Esperança, from Rabo de Peixe Basic Education School; ECOKIDS, from Madalena Basic Education and Secondary School; Elite Fishing, from São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School; Gravidez Informada, from Tomás de Borba Basic Education and Secondary School; and TravelBuddy, from Jerónimo Emiliano de Andrade Secondary School.

The awards for Basic Education School Finalist, Secondary School Finalist and the People’s Choice Award were presented during the ceremony.