Admit it: the COVID-19 crisis has taken over your life, your business, your freedom. It’s pivot or perish, guys! How do you want to respond? Hackbang invites YOU to put your skills, network, and gifting to work!
This 4-day virtual hackathon aims to gather people online to look for the best solutions to the challenges of the pandemic that we are experiencing at the moment. Dubbed as “Hackbang,” this is the first ever online innovation, solution, and ideas summit in Mindanao and it will be happening on June 26- June 29, 2020. Think of it as something like a virtual science fair on steroids!
We are the platform that will enable connections between the thinkers, the doers, the movers, and the shakers. If you have a great idea that solves the current challenges of COVID-19, this is the platform for you. Work with a team and solve the challenges together, and turn it into something viable and tangible. If you are an investor (whether from the private sector or the government) looking for the next big idea, this is the platform for you, too, because we might just have the team whose great idea you can help back up financially and implement. Hackbang will go down in history as the event that moved the needle, so we can safely latch on to a new life now and after the crisis.
Hackbang is open to all Mindanaoans (or someone who has a heart for Mindanao) who would like to share their concepts, inventions, applications, prototypes, on-ground programs, and any viable idea that will help find solutions to the COVID related challenges as we ease into the “next normal.”
Participants of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to join! All you need to prepare is your laptop/PC, mobile device, internet connectivity, and loads of ideas in tow. How does this event work? Here are easy steps to become part of Hackbang:
1. This event is free for all registrants and registration is now ongoing. One must simply visit the website, www.hack-bang.com to fill out the registration form either as an individual or as a team of at least five members. An individual registrant will be matched with other participants to comprise a team. A mentor will be assigned to the team in order to help them in their project proposal. These mentors are experienced in their field and can guide the teams in coming up with a compelling output. Team and mentor orientation will happen one week before the event, the details of which will be communicated upon official registration on the Hackbangwebsite.
2. Teams will pick one challenge out of the twelve challenges presented on the website. These challenges are effects of the current pandemic and felt in many aspects of daily living especially in Mindanao. The teams must narrow down the challenge to a specific problem they see in the society that they wish to address.
3. This challenge that the team picked will become their inspiration to come up with a viable solution/s and tackle the problem head-on. They have four days to prepare their project proposal pitch, from the morning of June 26 until the afternoon of June 29, 2020. Some of the events in the hackathon will be streamed live over YouTube and Facebook, but team huddles and discussions are kept within the confines of the team’s preferred online meeting place.
4. The team must be able to prepare and submit a short proposal online via the web portal on the 29th of June, 2020.
5. These submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by a defined jury.
6. Official results will be released days after the event. Top viable solutions will then be featured as event highlights. These projects will then have the chance to apply for a seed grant to help them startup their project and see it come to life. The organizers will assist in connecting the teams to incubate and scale the solution. Since this is an ideation conference – only concepts, prototypes, and ideas are to be shared publicly. Codes, processes, and in-depth information will not be disclosed during pitching. Data privacy and intellectual property are highly respected in this virtual event.
Since we will also be streaming LIVE via Youtube and Facebook, this event will feature pocket segments – webinars sharing best practices, situationers, COVID-related responses currently implemented, and motivational talks from guest panels and invited personalities here and abroad. Some of our topics include “Transitioning Your Business to the Online Platform,” “Urban Gardening Ideas,” “Creating a Profitable Business Presence on FB,” and many more. We will also have live cooking demos where you get to enter our zoom rooms and cook with a Chef right from the comfort of your own kitchen. We will also have live yoga classes, band performances, and of course, quick chats and updates with our hackers and mentors. This is the first time Mindanao is doing something like this so we are excited to see the different projects that these teams come up with.
If you feel like you’ve had enough TV and live streaming of movies and series to last you a couple more weeks, hop on and join Hackbang and make a difference for Mindanao!
More information will be released on the website and on social media in the coming days.
Hackbang is organized by 9000 Events, Bites and Pixels, The Caraga Creatives, Franco, and Komspec – this is the first virtual hackathon in Mindanao and for Mindanao.
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com Facebook Page. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com Community at WIM Squad! Join our WhenInManila.com community on Viber, as well!
