About Hack Against Covid-19
Right now many of us in our community and beyond are feeling powerless in the face of this pandemic. Just at the time we need community the most, connection has become precarious, making it easy to become scattered and lost. Let’s do something about it.
As specialists in interactive telecommunications, now is precisely when our skills are the most vital, so we are organizing a remote hackathon to bring together our community and show how much the work we do is meaningful in this troubling time.
The hackathon will kick off on Friday, March 20th @ 7pm.
WHERE WILL IT HAPPEN?
Our “Main Stage” — where all welcomes, important announcements, and presentations will happen — will be broadcast to the full audience via the ITP Residents’ Twitch livestream. We’ve playfully nicknamed our space “Red CyberSquare” in honor of our favorite community space on The Floor.
Link: Red CyberSquare
The organizing team will be using Zoom to talk to each other and participants, including the presentation round on Sunday. Those Zoom conversations will be broadcast to Red CyberSquare.
For your team communications, you are welcome to use whatever technology you wish! As this is also an exploration of a remote, community hackathon we highly suggest exploring a few always-on communication channels to explore the real hackathon-in-meatspace-feeling. Some ideas: Discord “Microphone On” Rooms, Zoom calls every hour, Google Hangouts every hour.
WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE?
Check out our full schedule here: Schedule
HOW WILL TEAMS WORK?
Ideally, teams will be groups of 2-5 individuals self-formed around complementary skills, interests or an idea. We will be kicking off the event with 1-minute lightning pitches and having a discussion period to facilitate team formation.
Come with a team or come find one! As this hackathon also serves to strengthen the community, we highly encourage you to collaborate with new people in the community.
HOW MUCH TIME DO I NEED TO COMMIT?
As Much as You Want!
We know life is chaotic at this moment and you all have a lot of other projects on hand. This is a virtual hackathon, which means you can be flexible with your time.
WHAT CAN I MAKE IN THE HACKATHON?
Some examples include a data visualization project to track coronavirus cases, a creative video that teaches people how to wash hands, infographic design of how the pandemic evolved, tools to combat misinformation, tools to organize the local community, or a meme generator to cheer people up… there are no constraints.
Some broad categories to help you ideate:
- Data Visualization
- Public Information
- Community Tools
- Self-Care & Isolation Guides
- Humor!
You can find some select inspirations here: Inspiration.
OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER YOUR PROJECTS AFTER THE HACKATHON
You can use the hackathon as a start of a longer-term project, and there are grants out there to fund your projects!
NOTE: The proposal for the Micro grant is due by the end of Friday, March 20. Form your team and submit your proposal!