Code for Pakistan and Telenor Velocity’s Civic Hackathon 2020 goes virtual!

For the very first time, Code for Pakistan and Telenor Velocity are organising their Civic Hackathon 2020 to be completely online! The aim of this hackathon is to find impactful societal solutions by helping our youth to make a positive impact on communities by addressing socio-economic challenges through technology.

Civic Hackathon 2020 will be held from 4th December to 13th December 2020. This 10-day event will bring together a mix of technologists, designers, urban planners, social scientists, NGOs and government to approach and solve social and civic problems in a new way using technology, innovative ideas, data and digital tools. The theme of this year’s hackathon will revolve around edtech, fintech, health, environment, food security and public safety.

With the spread of COVID-19 still a very real threat and concern this year, and with cases surging in recent weeks, this year’s hackathon is being held online. Normally, Code for Pakistan’s hackathon takes place over a weekend in Islamabad where participants convene and work all day, for a couple of days, to develop a prototype and present their project to a panel of judges.

This year, largely due to logistical constraints posed by COVID-19, a virtual hackathon format has presented the opportunity to allow participants more time to work on their projects, and to enable greater participation from all over the country. Instead of two to three days, participants now have five days to work on their projects (from 4th December to 9th December).

The hackathon is open to applicants from all over the globe, welcoming participants with diverse backgrounds and expertise. If you are not a computer programming pro but have a background in social science or art and design, you may team up with programmers and be a part of the hackathon!

“The Civic Hackathon is a perfect opportunity to show your creative and technical skills, compete against the best and make a positive contribution towards uplifting and improving our communities, and potentially making a huge positive impact in the lives of our fellow and extraordinary Pakistanis,” said Hamid Akhtar, President, Code for Pakistan.

“Civic Hackathon 2020 is a platform for our youth to unleash their creativity and come up with ideas that make a lasting impact on the society. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that we need digital solutions now more than ever and this platform provides that opportunity. With no geographical limitation to participation, I would like to encourage everyone who fits the criteria to apply and participate,” said Khurrum Ashfaque, Chief Operating Officer at Telenor Pakistan.

Sponsors for the Civic Hackathon 2020 include Quixel (Gold Sponsor) and Bentley Systems (Platinum Sponsor).

Partners include The World Bank, UNDP, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) Pakistan, The Nest i/o, Pakistani Women in Computing (PWiC), Code for All, NOWPDP, NIC Pakistan, NIC Karachi, NIC Peshawar, NIC Quetta, NIC Lahore, Change Mechanics, TIE Islamabad, Foster Learning, Google Developers Groups, Women Techmakers, OPEN MIC, Startup Grind, Devenings, Code Girls, Women in Tech PK, Facebook Dev Circle, Microsoft Student Partners, NUST students clubs, and FAST.

The top three winners will receive cash prizes and opportunities for networking and mentorship from the organisers and partner organisations.

Make sure you don’t miss this fantastic opportunity and register now by filling in and submitting this form https://bit.ly/cfphacks2020.

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/grqNX9aAF

Website: https://codeforpakistan.org/civic-hackathon-2020/