Global tech community mobilises in the online hackathon to combat the coronavirus pandemic

April 21, 2021

The ’hackathon’ will share and rapidly develop ideas for urgently needed solutions to the socio-economic crisis and develop new ideas to increase resilience post-crisis. Starting from Estonia the „Hack the Crisis“ hackathon initiative has rapidly grown into a worldwide movement that comes together in „the Global Hack“. „The crisis is

The ’hackathon’ will share and rapidly develop ideas for urgently needed solutions to the socio-economic crisis and develop new ideas to increase resilience post-crisis. Starting from Estonia the „Hack the Crisis“ hackathon initiative has rapidly grown into a worldwide movement that comes together in „the Global Hack“.

„The crisis is far from over and the fight is real, but the future is now. We can battle the problems of the immediate crisis with solutions that also increase our longer-term resilience. We should consider how we support our changing relationships; a new economy; poor healthcare; and strengthening the arts. We must also develop effective solutions to respond to future pandemics and other crises so we never have to hide again,“ says Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia from 2006 to 2016.

The tech community initiative – „the Global Hack“ online hackathon – will run from 09-12 April and is expected to attract over 1 million participants from across the world. „Approaching half of humanity is under lockdown. Online, with no borders, tech activists are building solutions in an epic rapid prototyping hackathon. It will be the biggest hackathon held, uniting humanity with purpose online at a time we are being separated physically. This is a unique time when the whole world is fighting the same problem together. If we move fast, the Global Hack can relieve a lot of immediate pain people are suffering as well as sustained social and economic benefits,“ adds Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

So far the „Hack the Crisis“ online hackathons have reached over 100,000 participants in more than 30 countries. „From India to Brazil people have found a way to invest their time and effort to create solutions with significant socio-economic impact. We have seen solutions in the areas of medicine, community management, business development,“ he said.