THE GLOBAL HACK: FIGHTING THE CORONAVIRUS TOGETHER!

Hack the crisis, the Estonian campaign I relayed last week* is becoming global. Under the leadership of young Kai Isand, project manager at Accelerate Estonia, Hack the crisis continues its momentum with The Global Hack, which takes place next week on a worldwide scale. This online and borderless hackathon is supported by the European Commission, which has earmarked €75,000, of which €60,000 will be given to the winning project. The Commission will also give its opinion as an institution on the challenges to be hacked in the fields of start-ups, SMEs and e-health and will offer its support in the search for viable solutions.

Arnaud Castaignet

To find out more about this great initiative that brings positive energy and to which everyone can contribute, I interviewed Arnaud Castaignet who supports the Global Hack by handling press relations. Arnaud was in charge of digital communication for the former French President François Hollande, he then headed the public relations for the Estonian government’s e-residency program. He is currently Director of Communications and Institutional Relations for Skeleton Technologies (world leader in supercapacitor energy storage for industrial applications in automotive, transport and networks).

Who is initiating this operation?

“The Global Hack is organized by Accelerate Estonia, Garage48 and Guaana with the support of the European Commission. These organizations were already at the origin of the Hack the Crisis organized on 13-15 March in Estonia. Since then, more than 47 countries have already organized their own hackathons in the last few weeks, including France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Latvia, Georgia, Ukraine, India, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Benin, Madagascar, Brazil, Canada… (For more information: https://garage48.org/hackthecrisis ). Numerous projects were quickly developed in a concrete way. For example, in Latvia, the winners of the HackForce hackathon signed a contract with the government only 5 days later, to provide equipment to protect their faces. This equipment was delivered in 10 days. In Estonia and Italy, solutions to bring isolated people in contact with volunteers who can help them with shopping, services or moral support have also been developed and are now being used. Among the solutions developed within hackathons are SUVE in Estonia (the government-approved chatbot that provides verified information on Covid-19) and Promettoditornare in Italy, a platform created to support family businesses.

Around the world, the tech and hack community has mobilized to help in the fight against the pandemic. Of course, we don’t claim to be able to “solve” the crisis through technology, the real heroes are the medical staff, the doctors, the scientists who are on the front line. Nevertheless, there are other ways we can be useful because we can contribute to urgent solutions, improve our resilience and preparedness for future crises and help adapt to the economic and social consequences of the pandemic.

How is The Global Hack organized, what are the tools used?

Accelerate Estonia, Garage48 and Guaana’ teams coordinate the organization of The Global Hack hackathon. Currently, teams ca, already register on Devpost ; everyone can propose problems encountered in their country or on a global scale or propose an idea for a solution or project. The other participants can answer and give their opinion and then form a team of 4 to 12 people. From April 6 to 8, teams can register on Guaana and from April 9 to 12, The Global Hack will take place. Several topics have been identified: the response to the crisis of course, but also the economy, education, environment, health, arts, governance, mental health, solidarity…

Who are the mentors for the event?

Several track leads have already been announced including Princess Khaliya Aga Khan, public health and mental health specialist, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, Future Ventures co-founder Steve Jurvetson, former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an American investor, and philanthropist Elisabeth Fullerton, Dr. Noah Raford director of international affairs at the Dubai Future Foundation, Ralph Echemendia American cybersecurity specialist, known as “The Ethical Hacker”, Sam Altman American entrepreneur, investor, programmer, and blogger. The full list of mentors will be announced shortly, as soon as the teams are assembled.

Do you need to speak English to participate?

The final presentation will be in English, but since a hackathon is a team effort, it is not necessarily necessary for every team member to speak English. »

And finally, here are a few words from Kai Isand head organizer of the Global Hack:

Kai Isand

“We want to hack into the crisis to help limit the spread of the virus but also to reflect on the impact this pandemic will have on our lives. To rethink the ways we move, build, learn and interact. To perhaps find new opportunities. To build a new normal.” “More than 47 countries have already organized their own online hackathons since the beginning of this crisis. The next step is for all of us to come together at a common event to develop projects with a strong social and economic impact on a global scale and to enable the necessary changes,” she adds.

The Global Hack is a unique opportunity to twist the crisis and the near future, sharing the information is already participating. To your keyboards!

*to read it click: here

Violaine Champetier de Ribes
Author and speaker
Co-author of  “The full digital nation, Estonia a break in the GAFAM wall”