It's heartening to see more and more hackathons focusing on solutions that promote compassion and the social good. Another great example comes from Jerusalem, an event put on by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Israel (JDC-Israel), a humanitarian assistance organization. Scroll down to read about the winning ideas that surfaced.
The aim of the event, according to JDC CEO David Schizer, was to work with tech leaders – Council Lead Partner Microsoft among them -- the Israeli government and hackathon participants to "make Israel a better place for those living on the edges of society."
According to the Times of Israel, nearly 100 ideas came out of the event and 21 were chosen to be developed. Judges came from JDC, the tech sector and NGO representatives.
And the winners are…
Three winning groups were named; they will also move on to the development process:
- First prize winner Connected Community is an app for managers of senior communities. It enables them to efficiently follow up with clients, prioritize goals, and manage emergencies.
- Second prize winner Yad2All is a platform for people with disabilities to access rental apartments via the web.
- Third prize winner IRemember came up with an app to help the elderly track daily medication schedules and family members’ birthdays.
“We must incorporate cutting-edge technology into the planning and development of social services, whether in Israel or worldwide," Yossi Tamir, director general of JDC-Israel, said in the Times piece. "We achieved some great solutions during this hackathon -- some of which we might even implement on a large scale. There are tons of new technologies out there and it’s up to us to make better use of them for Israel’s most vulnerable populations."
Related resources:
Case study: A "RAY of Light" on Independence for Blind and Visually Impaired People
Could your city's old folks use a helping hand from new technology?
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