Technology has an increasing role to play in protecting society against extremism. A series of hackathons being held globally over the next three months will drive progress in this important area of technological development.
Software developers from all over the world will compete to develop technologies that aim to prevent extremism and foster tolerance. Over the course of the next three months, developers will be participating in a series of hackathon events being held in 25 cities around the world. At these events they will be encouraged to find technology solutions that build tolerance and foster understanding across cultures, in order to prevent extremism. The first hackathons were held in San Francisco and Munich last weekend.
Hackathons are popular events where developers collaborate in weekend-long coding sessions. At the conclusion of the events, teams will present their results, and a panel of judges will select the winning teams.
The events are backed by the Govtech Alliance, a UK not-for-profit, established by technologists and venture capitalists to develop and promote technology solutions to the biggest challenges facing society.
The founder of the Govtech Alliance, serial entrepreneur and investor Aamer A. Sarfraz, said, “Tremendous talent exists in the tech community, and we need their creativity to counter all types of extremism. We’ve teamed up with great partners to make this happen. There couldn’t be a better platform than Angelhack to work with.”
The hackathons are organized by Angelhack, a large and diverse developer ecosystem.
Sabeen Ali, the Chief Executive Officer of Angelhack, said, “At AngelHack, we have seen first hand the importance of diversity, inclusion, and coexistence in both local, and global communities and across all industries. As a company who believes in conscious capitalism, we are thrilled to partner with the GovTech Alliance to encourage our community to code for a positive impact, and use their unique skill sets to help better the world.”
The Govtech Alliance’s campaign partners, who will help provide mentorship and support to the winning teams, include M&C Saatchi, the global marketing and communications leader, and the Counter Extremism Project, a not-for-profit international policy organisation combatting extremist ideologies.
