Florida GreenGuard AI wins Rep. Vern Buchanan’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s 16th District
Rep. Buchanan has named Harouna Thiam, a 12th grader at Manatee School for the Arts, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s 16th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Florida GreenGuard AI, the student said, “After learning more about the environment in my environmental science class, I began to grow an appreciation for Florida’s unique ecology. I realized that I have the pleasure to live in one of the most unique and beautiful tropical environments in the U.S. As I learned more, I began to understand more about my unique home and the things that could potentially endanger the greenery. Taking my love for the Florida ecosystem and my knowledge on its potential threats into account, I decided that an ecology-themed app geared towards the betterment and awareness of the ecosystem was the way to go. I’m so proud of the way it turned out, and I hope that it is able to benefit the general knowledge of the Florida population about potential ecosystem threats.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.