Statement in Recognition of Thought Leader Andreas Souvaliotis
On October 20, 2022 Senator Omidvar gave a statement in recognition of thought leader Andreas Souvaliotis, who created the first national wellness promotion platform. Watch her speech:
The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr. Andreas Souvaliotis and Mr. Joseph Gisini. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Omidvar.
On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!
Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, we speak a great deal on the Hill about the need for innovation, disruption and for thinking outside of the box. I am very pleased to present to you its embodiment in the person of Andreas Souvaliotis.
Andreas was one of the first to harness the immense popularity of loyalty point programs in Canada and create the world’s first national wellness promotion platform, the once hugely popular Carrot app.
Carrot was built as a radical, modern alternative to old-fashioned government advertising. It connected government and its agencies to Canadians coast to coast, allowing users to complete health questionnaires and track steps in exchange for reward points — truly a “carrot.” It promoted health and wellness, and it made it fun. No wonder, then, that at that time Andreas was frequently referred to as “Canada’s Chief Gamification Officer.”
The Carrot app quickly became so successful that it became the subject of academic studies and recognition across the world. It was named Canada’s top app of the year in 2017, and went on to win other major international awards.
But, colleagues, sadly, this story has an all too predictable Canadian ending. Jurisdictional confusion, infighting and long-entrenched differences between federal and provincial governments and policymakers unfortunately led to its untimely demise — ironically, just a few months before COVID-19 hit us. In another typically Canadian ending, whilst we have walked away from it, other nations like Greece are now picking up a made-in-Canada idea and running with it.
Just imagine how different our pandemic journey would have been if we still had a platform connecting us with millions of our citizens so directly, affordably and efficiently.
Colleagues, Andreas is a thought leader and a role model. He is autistic, gay, a musical prodigy, a philanthropist, an impact investor and an immigrant. He’s the author of a book called Misfit, because that’s what he has been: an autistic misfit. In short, colleagues, he is prolific, unconventional and relentless. I hope you will agree with me that we need many more like Andreas in Canada to make us a successful society going into the future.