Conclusion of the First Edition of “Digitopia” Egypt’s Largest Informatics Competition

Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, attended the closing ceremony of the first edition of the “Digitopia” competition—Egypt’s largest informatics competition. The initiative, launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, aims to uncover Egyptian talents in digital creativity nationwide across age groups from 10 to 35. Participants competed to develop digital solutions addressing societal challenges across three tracks: software and artificial intelligence solutions, cybersecurity, and digital games and arts.

The Meaning Behind “Digitopia”
During his speech, Dr. Amr Talaat explained the Ministry’s vision behind choosing the name “Digitopia.” The name consists of two parts: “Digital,” reflecting Egypt’s digital vision toward building a technologically enabled society capable of producing innovative digital solutions to tackle challenges; and “Topia,” a Latin term meaning an ideal or utopian city. Together, “Digitopia” expresses a future shaped by creativity and technology. He emphasized that the competition will continue to prepare generations of innovators across all ICT specializations.

Strategic Tracks for the Future
Dr. Talaat pointed out that the three selected tracks represent key areas of present and future technologies and the promising opportunities they offer. He explained that artificial intelligence enables analysis and solution-building in fields such as healthcare, agriculture, energy, and education—domains linked to massive data volumes, which underscores the importance of cybersecurity to protect this data as a national and individual asset.

As for the digital games and arts track, it reflects technology’s power to transform ideas into vibrant realities through digital games and artistic expressions. He stressed that humans remain the true leaders of technology, as the creative human mind will continue to harness technology to serve humanity, progress, and wellbeing.

Creativity and Team Spirit
Dr. Talaat praised the creativity and teamwork demonstrated by participants throughout the competition, affirming that all competitors are winners for the experience they gained, the practical exposure they had, the new skills they developed, and the friendships they formed. He added that the closing ceremony of Digitopia’s first edition marks the beginning of a promising journey for participants to pursue their dreams based on knowledge, effort, and creativity. He also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting them and enhancing their skills. He expressed sincere appreciation to the parents who supported the participants and encouraged them to continue their journey.

Competition Phases and Participation
The competition began in early August and saw the participation of more than 25,000 innovators who formed over 6,500 teams from across Egypt’s governorates. The competition went through several filtering stages, starting with the launch and registration phase, followed by idea submission, idea development, and finally the grand finals, where 72 teams—comprising around 300 participants (24 teams per track)—competed.

Age Categories
Digitopia included four age categories:

• Impact Explorers: primary school students (grades 4–6)
• Impact Makers: middle and high school students (grades 7–12)
• Impact Innovators: university students across all majors
• Impact Leaders: graduates and entrepreneurs up to 35 years old

Awards and Winning Teams
During the ceremony, Dr. Amr Talaat honored the top six winning teams, who collectively received prizes exceeding EGP 10 million, including a grand prize of EGP 1 million for each track, in addition to various financial and in-kind awards. Top winners Across Tracks as follows:

Software & Artificial Intelligence Track:

• Impact Explorers: Digital Environment Champions
• Impact Makers: MindLink
• Impact Innovators: Qaderoon (Able)
• Impact Leaders: Challenge of Will

Cybersecurity Track:

• Impact Explorers: Awareness Champions
• Impact Makers: System Guardian
• Impact Innovators: Nazwill
• Impact Leaders: White Matter

Digital Games & Arts Track:

• Impact Explorers: Techno Pro
• Impact Makers: The Three Girls
• Impact Innovators: Without Wings
• Impact Leaders: Kan

Dr. Talaat also honored the competition’s institutional partners whose contributions played a pivotal role in supporting the success of Digitopia.

Innovative Concepts and National Identity

During the ceremony, Dr. Heba Saleh, President of the Information Technology Institute, explained that Digitopia went through four filtering stages with participants from all governorates. She noted that male participants represented around 65% of total competitors, while females accounted for 35%.

She added that the projects showcased innovative ideas that can be further developed into fully-fledged Egyptian technological products. Projects in the digital games and arts track strongly reflected Egyptian identity, while projects in cybersecurity and software/AI offered innovative solutions for information security, societal needs, and the national economy.

UNDP Collaboration and Digital Inclusion

Ms. Chitose Noguchi, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt, highlighted the strong partnership between UNDP and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in advancing Egypt’s digital vision. She stated that this partnership has become the largest digital program for UNDP in the Arab region.

She emphasized that youth and innovation lie at the heart of this partnership and that initiatives like Digitopia promote inclusivity by ensuring equal opportunities for girls, youth across governorates, and persons with disabilities. She added that digital transformation is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and relies on strong partnerships as well as the creativity and dedication demonstrated by Digitopia participants.