Technical Mentor in First Social Innovation Hackathon in Erbil.
The first Social Innovation Hackathon took place in Erbil during July 21 and 22, 2017. The event was organized by Re:coded and supported by the UN migration agency (IOM). I was honored to participated as a technical mentor and had the pleasure to interact with the participants of the event. Some very interesting ideas, very ambitious team members, and very engaging event. 
The following details are borrowed from the event’s Facebook page for reference only
Are you at home plugged into your computer deep in code? Or do you love designing new solutions to social problems? Are you a refugee looking to expand your skills and find solutions to pressing challenges you face? Register for the first ever Social Innovation Hackathon in Erbil!
The Social Innovation Hackathon will bring together community members, developers, designers, social entrepreneurs, and humanitarians to build creative technology solutions that will help improve the lives of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
DATE: July 21-22 from 08:30 to 18:00.
WHAT IS A HACKATHON?
A hackathon is an event where participants contribute their expertise and collaborate intensively to co-create technology-oriented solutions. The goal of the Social Innovation Hackathon is to learn more about the needs of refugees and internally displaced persons and jump-start a project or help an ongoing project take a giant leap forward.
Three main challenges will be presented to participants at the beginning of the event. Participants will form teams to work together and develop solutions. At the end of the hackathon, teams will have an opportunity to present their ideas, prototypes and business plans to a panel of judges. During the hackathon, subject-matter experts will share knowledge, give feedback and help teams to overcome obstacles.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Developers, designers, refugees, humanitarians, social entrepreneurs, and business minds – we’re looking for you! All you need to bring is your enthusiasm to solve tough challenges for refugees and IDPs (and a laptop if you have one).
PRIZES!
We hope the Social Innovation Hackathon will build collective goodwill, relationships and ideas that will carry on long after the hackathon. A jury of leading figures in the technology and humanitarian communities will decide on the winners. Prizes at the end of the hackathon will help support the most viable projects to move forward.
REGISTRATION
Register today for the Social Innovation Hackathon. Registrations close on July 17! Places are limited and you will be informed on July 18th if you have received a (free) ticket. We will send out detailed instructions and an agenda to those that receive ticket confirmation.
The Social Innovation Hackathon is supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – IOM Iraq – and funded by the US Government. Partners are Zain, FiveOne Labs, Bite.Tech, and Techfugees.
Photo credit of Re:coded