CORONATHON.me: COVID-19 response and recovery online hackathon

Podgorica, 9 April 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Science and Ministry of Culture are organising the first online hackathon in Montenegro – CORONATHON.me, in cooperation with: DevClub, Alicorn, Digitalizuj.Me and Science and Technology Park. Hackathon media partners are RTCG, Vijesti TV and Vijesti Portal.

The goal of online hackathon is to identify solutions that would help Montenegro adjust to, respond to and recover from the consequences caused by new coronavirus – COVID-19. The event will bring together the digital community and experts from various fields and citizens, with the virtual contest scheduled to take place on 24-26 April. The teams will have 48 hours to develop solutions, from the comfort of their own homes.

COVID-19 expands way beyond being merely a health crisis. Namely, the pandemic simultaneously causes a social and economic crisis, threatening to result in severe consequences, destabilised markets and deepened inequalities. However, as the virus spreads and visibly produces negative effects, technology and innovation take on an increasingly important role in addressing those challenges. Not only does technology enable normal daily life and functioning in the conditions of restricted movement – it also brings efficient solutions for quick crisis response and recovery.

 

CORONATHON participants will utilise collective intelligence of the digital, research and academic community to focus their energy and knowledge on finding the best, quickest and most efficient solutions in the following three priority areas:

1. Protecting life and public health: helping individuals and families to stay well; providing community support to slow down the virus spread; protecting health workers; ensuring a quicker and better health system response; promoting healthy lifestyles and providing support to building adaptation mechanisms, including psychosocial support.

2. Accelerating recovery: supporting the business sector to adapt and offer new services; helping create opportunities for youth employment; securing access to finance for small businesses and start-ups; innovation in service delivery and support to the most vulnerable in the context of employment and social welfare; protecting creative businesses – mapping creative individuals and linking them with the market demand; using new data and supporting digital infrastructure.

3. Securing sustainable future: innovative solutions in minimising GHG emissions through green tourism and sustainable transport; securing new green jobs; generating new creative contents to promote Montenegro and its cultural heritage (e.g. through demo video games); activities in the field of education – including investments in digital skills and infrastructure.

All the proposed solutions should focus on upholding human rights and protecting vulnerable groups.

Interested teams can apply by 20 April at 23:59 by filling in the form available at www.coronathon.me. The teams will be supported by mentors from the IT industry or the area relevant for their solution. The competition finals will be publicly available via livestream.

The total prize pool amounts to EUR 13,000: EUR 5,000 for the first; EUR 3,000 for the second, and EUR 2,000 for the third place, with three additional EUR 1,000-prizes also available. Over the next three months, the winning teams will have further support in implementation of their solutions, as well as assistance in media promotion.

The panel of judges will select the competition winners based on the following criteria: sustainability, replicability, impact, feasibility, timeline and innovation. The focus is on the practical solutions that may directly benefit individuals, community and businesses as soon as possible.

For further information on the competition, participation rules and criteria, please visit the official website at www.coronathon.me. For any additional questions, please contact the organisers via email or social media at:

  Coronathon.me