Take part in CoronaThon and help create innovative solutions to help Montenegro fight against the novel coronavirus

Podgorica, 9 April 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Science and Ministry of Culture are organizing the first online hackathon in Montenegro – CORONATHON.me, in partnership with: DevClub, Alicorn, Digitalizuj.Me and Science and Technology Park. Hackathon media partners are Vijesti Portal, Vijesti TV and RTCG.

Hackathon seeks to identify the solutions which will help Montenegro adjust, respond and recover from the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic – COVID-19. The event will bring together the digital community, experts from various domains and citizens, for a virtual contest on 24-26 April. The teams will have 48 hours to develop solutions, from the comfort of their homes.

But COVID-19 is much more than a health crisis. The pandemic is also causing It is a social, economic crises that may leave deep scars, shatter economies and exacerbate the inequalities. However, as the virus spreads and its negative impact is already tangible, technology and innovation take on an important role in overcoming the challenges. Not only does technology enable smooth operations and our daily functioning under the lockdown, it also provides efficient solutions for fast response and recovery from the crisis.

Participants of CoronaThon will rely on the collective intelligence of the scientific, research and academic community and focus their energy and expertise on seeking the best, fastest and most efficient solutions in the following three priority areas:

1. Protecting life and public health: Help individuals and families stay safe; Provide support to the community to slow down the spread of the virus; Protect health workers; Help ensure a faster and better health system response; Promote healthy lifestyles and help build mechanisms for adaptation, including psychosocial support. 

2.   Accelerating recovery:  Help the business sector adapt and offer new services; Help create opportunities for youth employment; Secure access to finance for small businesses and start-ups; Innovation in service delivery and support for the most vulnerable, in the context of employment and social welfare; Protection of creative businesses – mapping creative individuals and linking them with the identified demand for their engagement; Use of new data and support to digital infrastructure.

3.    Securing sustainable future: Innovative solution to minimize GHG emissions through green tourism and sustainable transport; Securing new green jobs; Generating new creative contents to promote Montenegro and its cultural heritage (e.g. through demo video games); Activities in education – including investments in digital skills and infrastructure.

All the proposed solutions should focus on upholding human rights and protecting vulnerable groups. 

Teams can apply until 20 April at 23:59 by filling in the form at www.coronathon.me. They will be supported by mentors from the IT industry or the area relevant for their solution. The competition finals will be available through livestream.

The total prize pool is EUR 13,000: EUR 5,000 for the first prize; EUR 3,000 for the second, and EUR 2,000 for the third. Additional three prizes in the amount of EUR 1,000 are also available. Over the next three months, the winning teams have further support in implementation of their solutions, as well as assistance in promotion and media visibility.

The panel of judges will select the CoronaThon winners based on the following criteria: sustainability, replicability, impact, feasibility, timeline and innovation. The emphasis is on the practical solutions that may be directly useful to individuals, community and businesses.

For more information on the hackathon, rules for participation and criteria, please visit the official website - www.coronathon.me.

For all additional queries, please contact the organizers via email or social media:

   E-mail: info@coronathon.me  

   Facebook: CoronaThon.me   

    Twitter: CoronathonMe  

    Instagram: coronathon.me