DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 27th Oct, 2020) The Dubai Future Council for Humanitarian Aid Initiative in collaboration with the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference and Exhibition- DIHAD, will host the first-of-its-kind International Humanitarian Hackathon virtually in the region on 17th and 18th November, 2020.
The two-day Hackathon focuses on Aid, Crises Management, and COVID-19.
The hackathon is set to gather international organisations, incubators, tech companies, start-ups, innovative hackers, coders, developers, academics, and international and local students. They will come together to generate new ideas, build prototypes and launch new projects for people in humanitarian crises, crowd management in crises, and outreach programmes among many others. They will present solutions that help tackle these matters such as developing algorithms to pick up early warning signs, developing systems to manage supplies and shelters, developing a crises preparedness system, and much more.
Participants will have the opportunity to choose humanitarian challenges from tracks identified by the organisers in collaboration with leading humanitarian organisations to compete for a chance to pitch during DIHAD 2021 and win AED150,000.
The hackathon is expected to attract more than 200 participants from across the world, who will share their innovative ideas that will serve as solutions to current humanitarian challenges, especially ones that have emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the hackathon, Dr. Manal Omran Taryam, board member and Chief Executive Officer, Noor Dubai Foundation, said, "The importance of The International Humanitarian Hackathon lies not only in the role it plays in bringing the world’s most brilliant minds together but also in utilising the potential of youth and employing the latest technologies in finding solutions that can be implemented in real-life crisis zones. This is an initiative like no other, started here from the UAE, the land of possibilities, to serve humankind."
Dr. Waleed Al-Ali, Advisor at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives said, "The participants in the International Humanitarian Hackathon are doing much more than compete, they are changing the world and utilising their talents, education, and experiences towards a better future for everyone involved."
He added, "This initiative would not have been possible without the vision of our wise leadership, who have always emphasised the importance of humanitarian work."
The International Humanitarian Hackathon is an initiative by the Dubai Future Council on Humanitarian Aid and DIHAD, and is sponsored by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and supported by Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department. In addition, the Hackathon’s tech partner is IBM, and the humanitarian challenges are provided by International Humanitarian City, Noor Dubai, Dubai Water Aid Foundation, and Médecins Sans Frontières, and others.
