School of Cities: App Development Competition Proposal Deadline

The School of Cities is excited to announce its first ever app development competition – and you have the chance to be a part of it.

Across Canada, loneliness in youth has become a significant issue, with nearly a quarter of those aged 15 – 24 reporting that they always or often feel lonely (Statistics Canada, 2021). This loneliness can take a toll on mental health and overall wellbeing, reducing one’s quality of life.

One of the best ways to address the challenge of loneliness is through improving civic engagement – getting youth more involved and connected with the cities and communities they are a part of.

Civic engagement has many other benefits too. It can ensure youth perspectives are more represented on key political issues like climate change and education. It can result in neighbourhoods that better reflect youth mobility and cultural interests. And early civic engagement can result in continued civic engagement throughout life.

That’s why the goal of this competition is to design a mobile application or website with the goal of improving and fostering civic engagement in youth (ages 15 – 24).