Google has shortlisted ten UK charities which stand the chance of winning £500,000 as part of its Global Impact Challenge.

In March, Google UK launched the Global Impact Challenge, inviting UK charities to pitch projects which will change the world using technology.

Ten finalists – four of whom will be awarded £500,000 each, have been revealed today by Google, which is currently under fire for its tax arrangements in the UK.

The public will choose one winner through the Global Impact Challenge website which opens for voting from today until Friday 31 May.

A panel including Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Jilly Forster, founder of Forster Communications, and Google’s Matt Brittin and Jacqueline Fuller, will choose three awardees and reveal the public’s choice at an event on 3 June. 

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, judge and inventor of the World Wide Web added: “The web’s contribution to economic progress has been much celebrated, but I believe that we are only scratching the surface of its potential to solve social and political problems. On behalf of the World Wide Web Foundation, I'm delighted to join Google in this exciting and innovative initiative.”

The ten finalists and a brief overview of their project goals, tackling problems ranging from unemployment and freedom of speech to solar energy and wildlife poaching, can be found below:

Age UK: Inspire older people to reminisce using technology, delivering digital training to help them enjoy a happier and healthier later life.

Amnesty International: Work with activists and partners to develop a mobile alert system to immediately transmit messages to trusted networks in emergencies.

CDI Apps For Good: Revolutionise computing education by engaging kids in the hands-on creation of apps.

Integrity Action: Improve public infrastructure and services in war-torn countries through an online platform for citizens to report on development projects.

MAKLab: Give young people access to digital technology to start their first businesses, fueling economic growth and entrepreneurship training.

Pennies: Give consumers the option to donate a few pennies of electronic change with a single click when making card purchases.

SolarAid: Enable widespread access to low-cost, safe solar lighting in off-grid African communities currently reliant on kerosene lighting.

vInspired: Help unemployed young people in the UK enter the workforce through a digital microwork platform — connecting them to short, flexible jobs where they can learn skills, earn money and gain work experience.

War Child: Use crowdsourced digital mapping to reduce sexual violence and support child protection in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL): Use next generation camera traps, equipped with automated sensors, to better protect threatened wildlife.

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