Wednesday, July 25, 2018

JEDDAH: From August 1-3, Jeddah will play host to more than 3,000 developers and 18,000 computer, information and technology enthusiasts from more than 100 countries, as part of the Hajj Hackathon, which promises to be the Middle East’s largest hackathon ever.

Google will support the Hajj Hackathon providing mentorship and training.

The Hajj Hackathon is being organized by The Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, an initiative fulfilling the goals and objectives of the Kingdom’s sweeping and groundbreaking Vision 2030, which seeks to provide new and valuable opportunities to the nation’s young people.

The Hajj Hackathon will attract leading programmers from around the world and challenge them to innovatively leverage technology to enrich the Hajj experience for the more than 2 million pilgrims that travel to Saudi Arabia every year.

The event illustrates the Kingdom’s commitment to becoming a regional and global leader in technical innovation, developing both an environment and infrastructure that benefits the nation’s young people.

The SAFCSP is offering prize awards to the top three participants valued at SR2,000,000 ($533,000) to transform their ideas into real businesses.

First place will receive SR1,000,000, second place will receive SR500,000 and third place will receive SR350,000.

Additionally, SR150,000 will be awarded as a prize for excellence.

The competition includes several fields related to the Hajj and its services such as beverage and meals, health, financial solutions, transportation, crowd management, traffic control, travel and accommodation, waste management, housing and communication solutions.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1345306/saudi-arabia