Today the Nokia Create contest added a great new twist for Windows Phone app developers with a mission dedicated to the idea of “Doing Good”. In partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), developers are invited to create new apps that will make the lives of people with low vision easier; or update their existing apps to make them more accessible in general.

For example, developers might submit apps like a compass that gives vibration feedback or perhaps more complex examples that provide audio descriptions of the view from the Nokia Lumia camera. The apps submitted can fit within any of the eight current Nokia Create contest categories.

Updates needed to make apps more accessible to everyone are usually not major. Small things like contrast and font sizes can make a big difference, not just for partially sighted people.

Besides Nokia, the RNIB will also be serving as judges for the best apps in the Do Good mission.

Just like the other missions in Nokia Create, there will be one winner and nine runners up in the Do Good mission. In addition to other prizes already noted in the contest which includes a trip to Mobile World Congress 2014, the winner of this mission will also receive an expense-paid trip for two people to the 29th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego, California, where the winning app will be showcased. Additionally, the winner and runners up will receive a free UX consultation to help create the best possible app experience for their users.

Any apps submitted to the Do Good portion of Nokia Create must be published to the Windows Phone Store by December 15, 2013.

Watch this video for inspiration about ideas for apps that can be submitted to this mission:

Of course, this is not the first time that Nokia Developer has challenged developers with a “Do Good” theme. They hosted a hackathon event earlier this year to generate useful new apps for people and the planet.

Two new mini missions added

In addition to the new philanthropic mission, the Nokia Create contest is opening two more of its six mini missions – one for Maps & Places (using the Windows Phone API powered by HERE), and the other using Nokia Music. These mini missions are specifically to encourage developers to update their existing Windows Phone apps with new features related to the category. Entries for these new mini missions must be in the Windows Phone Store by October 31, 2013.

Complete rules and details about Nokia Create, including the new Do Good mission, are available from Nokia Developer.