A series of three day hackathons, that will make a life changing difference to homeless communities in cities across the globe, will open with a hackathon in Edinburgh over the weekend of 20/21/22 March.
William Thomson, Managing Director of organisers Gallus Events said:
“The lack of a safe and secure home is an issue for millions of people across the globe. Homelessness is a global crisis. Hackathons have a proven track record of positively impacting the communities they serve and a Homeless Hackathon packs a big enough punch to design and develop practical solutions to prevent homelessness”
As well as the Edinburgh event, Homeless Hackathons are taking place in:
Montreal, 26/27/28 JUNE
Barcelona, 10/11/12 JULY
Dundee, 9/10/11 OCTOBER
London, 6/7/8 NOVEMBER
Taking place over a 72 hour period (Friday night to Sunday afternoon), hackers come up with innovative and creative ways to solve real world problems.
The Homeless Hackathons will be a spark for innovative solutions to help reduce homelessness and rough sleeping, and to provide support for those in the homeless community.
The hackathon will bring together 100 people from across the IT and digital community, creative industries and local and national government, as well as the charity sector.
Jamie Cooke, Head of RSA Scotland added:
“With two hackathons taking place in Scotland they are an incredibly important and timely opportunity. As economic insecurity increases and the impacts of austerity become ever more evident, it is unsurprising that the homelessness levels have been rising.
I am delighted to support the hackathons as a powerful response to this unacceptable state of affairs – by bringing together tech savvy young people and those who have lived experience of homelessness, the hackthons will challenge the status quo and bring innovative new ideas to the table. I can’t wait to see what comes out of them”