Hack the Crisis Sweden participants solve societal challenges
Hack the Crisis Sweden is an online hackathon that was organized from 3 to 6 April this year. The aim of the hackathon was to come up with solutions to societal challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the Hack the Crisis Sweden participants then joined the European hackathon #EUvsVirus and have now started pilot projects that can help society during this difficult period.
Hack the Crisis Sweden
Hack the Crisis is a movement that started in Estonia and has since spread around the world. From 3 to 6 April, Hack the Crisis Sweden was organized by Hack for Sweden, a government initiative to promote open and data-driven innovation. Ann Molin is responsible for the international part of the government mission Hack for Sweden and tellstells us how the hackathon came to Sweden.
- On March 26th the government announced that the government assignment Hack for Sweden would go to DIGG, and that the first assignment was to arrange a virtual hackathon on April 3 to 6. So we had eight days to plan an event that normally requires four to six months of planning. The spread of the virus had not fully hit Sweden at that time and there was a lot of talk about what would happen here at home. The commitment that existed among both the public, citizens and in the business community to to help and support was incredible.
Commitment to hackathon very high
Hack the Crisis Sweden managed to find 160 partnerorganizations that wanted to join and support the event. The year before, Hack for Sweden had around 70 partnerorganizations. The engagement for the hackathon was very high and it was the first time it was organized online.
- Hack the Crisis Sweden was the largest of the various hackathons held around Europe in terms of the number of participants. It was very cool to see the commitment in Sweden, that people took the time to be involved as participants and as a partner organization, and to see how we are at the forefront of digital development," says Ann Molin.
In total, Hack the Crisis had 7 439 participants and by the end of the hackathon, 530 solutions to various societal challenges had been presented. Participants were able to compete in six different categories and many of them went on to participate in the EU hackathon #EUvsVirus.
- As the person responsible for the international part of the government's Hack for Sweden project I have been in contact with the teams that went on to the EUCommission's pan-European hackathon EU vs Virus. Of the 22,000 participants in EUvsVirus there were several Swedish winners, including Bright Act, BreakEven and Aiditto, says Ann Molin.
BrightAct is an app that brings together support for victims of domestic violence and was one of the winners of the European Commission's #EUvsVirus hackathon. The app is now a pilot project in Helsingborg city where it is being tested. If the pilot is successful, the idea is that more municipalities will be able to use it.
Break Even won the "Saving Businesses" category in the Swedish hackathon and was also one of the winners in the European Commission hackathon. Their idea is a free web platform where small businesses can show customers how their business is doing in a given week or month, so that customers can support local businesses that need most help the most.
Aiditto, or AID IT TO, is a platform to match people in need with helpers during a crisis like the coronavirus. Aiditto reached the final of the EU hackathon with its solution and since then several European crisis organizations have shown interest and Aiditto is starting a pilot in Skåne.
- Now that the hackathon is over the digitalization authority, DIGG, is responsible for to support the solutions that have emerged. "I myself will continue to work with the EU hackathon and help the EU participants who need help with contacts in Sweden," says Ann Molin.