UNESCO Hackathon Vietnam 2018 Wrap Up

204 participants gathered at the UNESCO Hackathon over the weekend of October 13 – 14 in Ho Chi Minh City to develop digital applications that tackle climate change and sustainable development challenges in Vietnam and the Mekong region. The event was a great success thanks to support from the Government of Malaysia, UNESCO YouthMobile Initiative and Officience.

24 project teams were formed during the Hackathon. With the dedication of team members and mentorship from facilitators, all teams managed to complete their hacks. It was challenging for the judges to make their final decision as all proposed solutions appeared to be innovative and applicable. The three winning teams were Klima Kage, Climap & Bird’s Eye View. Additionally, the judges also selected three runner-ups ThreeWolves, DBTFC & GreenELF, whose projects directly address the issues related to climate change in the country.

Winning Projects: Klima Kage, Bird’s Eye View and Climap

Klima Kage is a website application which consists of two parts: main page and community page. The main page contains data from open source database and tutorials extracted from the UNESCO handbook for journalists on climate change and sustainable development in Asia Pacific, which directly assist journalists in selecting data to monitor.

On the community side, there is a forum for discussion and a news section where relevant articles will be published. The team decided to give priority to female journalists (ration 6:4) in reviewing and releasing news articles on this page, as a way to raise public awareness on gender dimension. SUSI.AI was also integrated into the web app to record users’ behaviour and offer suggestions for their next visits.

Klima Kage (Sieben) Team

Bird’s Eye View is a mobile game built in unity with an objective to educate people about the impacts of climate change on all kind of creatures under the sea. In each level of the game, players are brought into a different coastal city in Vietnam, where they learn about the real problems which are happening to the regional aquatic animals.

The game was designed to target on younger age groups, who generally have less awareness on environmental issues, yet are expected to create big differences in the community once they grow up. In the future, the development team hopes to expand the application, to include more terrains and other kinds of animals in order to provide players with a more overall image of the situation in Vietnam and the region.

Bird’s Eye View app presented by ‘Why triple teas?’ Team

Climap is the last project selected as a winner of the hackathon. Proposed and developed by a team of young developers from Ho Chi Minh City, Climap acts as an EXIF based Image Sharing System that enables users to to collect and instantly share data/images of places before, during and after disasters happen (due to the impacts of climate change). 

By using Climap, users can view all relevant data from the uploaded photos including: its location, weather index, and the occurred events/incidents, etc. They can write tags for each picture to label what was happening at that moment so the data can be further analyzed by local authorities or responsible institutions.

Climap by BIT Team

Talks and Workshops

Alongside with the hacking competition, tech talks and workshops were hosted to support the participants and provide them crucial knowledge of the topics.

Panel Discussion: A Green Planet for All

At the beginning of the hackathon, Hong Phuc Dang (FOSSASIA Founder) led a panel discussing featuring Misako Ito (UNESCO Advisor for Information and Communication), Pham Lan Phuong (Author Khai Don) and Tran Le Thu Giang (Youtuber GiangOi) to uncover the concepts of climate change and sustainable development under the own perspectives. The conversation offered the audience specific answers on how they can practice sustainable development in every aspects of their daily lives.

Panel Discussion: A Green Planet for All

Workshops: Working with Git/Github and Doing Electronics Experiments with PSLab

PadMal M, FOSSASIA/PSLab Lead Developer delivered two workshops, when he showed participants how contributors can effectively work together on an open source project using Github and what electronics experiments can be performed using PSLab (Pocket Science Lab – a hardware device by FOSSASIA). Together with FOSSASIA robotics expert, Marco Gutiérrez, the two successfully developed and integrated a robot into the PSLab device, which amazed participants and audience alike.

Learn how to perform scientific experiments using PSLab
Robotics integration on PSLab device by Marco Gutiérrez and Padmal M

Experience the world’ first portable CO2 Laser Cutter by LionsForge

Kee Wee Teng, Founder at LionsForge is a maker at heart, he always felt that the laser cutter, being such a useful tool, should be more accessible. He believed this type of machine should be safer so that everyone can use it for their own needs. After two years working on several designs and samples, Kee Wee and his team finally introduced to the world the CraftLaser laser cutter, a portable yet powerful machine that can be safely use at home, in the schools or even in public places.

Kee Wee Teng, Founder/CEO at LionsForge explained the CraftLaser’s operation procedures,
then shared how he successfully got the project fully funded from Indiegogo in just a week.

Video Footage of UNESCO Hackathon Vietnam 2018

Links

Hackathon Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tJRN2b3mayNy6FcE6

FOSSASIA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fossasia

FOSSASIA Videos: https://www.youtube.com/fossasiaorg

FOSSASIA Calendar: https://calendar.fossasia.org

Posts on the Web

UNESCO Bangkok: UNESCO Hackathon sets its sights on climate change solutions in Asia-Pacific

LionsForge Singapore: UNESCO Hackathon in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Vietnamese-German University News: VGU students won first prize at UNESCO Hackathon Vietnam  

Share your write-ups about UNESCO Hackathon by making a tweet using hashtag #UNESCOHackathon #YouthMobile @fossasia @YouthMobile_ 

Continue ReadingUNESCO Hackathon Vietnam 2018 Wrap Up

UNESCO Hackathon in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Join UNESCO Hackathon in Ho Chi Minh City on Oct 13 -14, 2018 to learn about climate change and environmental challenges in Vietnam, meet regional sustainable development experts and listen to their successful startup stories by doing sustainable and green businesses.

There is no restriction of age or backgrounds of participants. Students, NGOs reps, journalists, bloggers, developers and all open source contributors are invited to join! The hackathon is open for all and awesome prizes are waiting for you!

Each winner of the three top teams will receive these prizes.

The objective of the hackathon is to propose innovative solutions that help journalists to monitor and report on climate change and sustainable development issues in Asia and the Pacific.

The participants will be introduced to UNESCO’s Guidebook for Journalists Reporting on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific which includes information and knowledge on climate science, related international and regional treaties and policy frameworks including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, and tips for journalists for finding and telling stories.

Time and Location

Time: Saturday October 13 – Sunday October 14, 2018
Location: Officience Vietnam, 16A Le Hong Phong, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Why should I participate?

  • Learn how to create a chatbot within an hour with SUSI.AI
  • Carry out experiment with electronic devices PSlab.io
  • Update yourselves with knowledge of technology and sustainable development in Vietnam
  • Meet special guest speakers from the UNESCO, Embassy of Sweden and many more.
  • Improve your language skills, presentation skills and build up your leadership abilities
  • Receive certificates from UNESCO, T-shirts, swags, and special prizes from the sponsors

How do I know if I am qualified to join?

The hackathon is open for everyone, especially for those:

  • Curious and willing to learn new things
  • Interested in technology and sustainable development
  • Like to make new friends and expand their networks
  • Able to communicate in English
  • No prior coding skill is required

How do I sign up?

  1. Get your ticket to the Event on eventyay.com
  2. Sign up on Devpost as you will need to submit your final hack there.
  3. Join the Gitter channel at https://gitter.im/fossasia/hackathon (requires login with Github).
  4. Find team members and form a team with at least 2 members and maximum 4 contributors. You are also welcome to sign up and then wait until the Presentation of Ideas on Saturday before deciding to join a team, however we’d encourage you to form/join a team in advance if you already have an idea that you’d like to work on.
  5. Join the event at the Officience Vietnam on Saturday, Oct 13 at the opening at 8.30am until 9.00pm and on Sunday, Oct 14 from 8.00am until 5.00pm.

Visit the website at unesco.sciencehack.asia and stay connected, join the event on Facebook and follow FOSSASIA on Twitter.

Prizes

All participants will receive a gift bag (Tshirt, sticker, wristband and lanyard) and a certificate from UNESCO for participating in the hacking.

Each winner of the three top teams will be awarded special gift package including:

  • A Pocket Science Lab – hardware device by FOSSASIA
  • Special Developer Helmet by FOSSASIA
  • Winner Medal
  • Team Building Buffet Dinner Voucher
  • Team Hack-Away Mekong Delta Tour (floating Market, hackerspace, hotel)
  • Tiki Techie Gift Voucher
  • 6-month coworking space membership

Links

UNESCO Hackathon: https://unesco.sciencehack.asia

Tickets: https://eventyay.com/e/dbd7567d

Project Signup: https://unesco-hackathon.devpost.com

Communication Channel: https://gitter.im/fossasia/hackathon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1713085622073681

FOSSASIA: https://twitter.com/fossasia

Continue ReadingUNESCO Hackathon in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

UNESCO Hackathon at FOSSASIA Summit in Singapore

Join the UNESCO Open Data Hackathon at the FOSSASIA Summit, create open source apps and games that tackle climate change, environment and sustainable development challenges, and win awesome prizes! The hackathon takes place from Saturday 24 March to Sunday 25 March 2018 at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Singapore.

We are specifically interested in applications and games that set an example for others who could replicate solutions in other countries, and in particular in the Mekong countries, to tackle the sustainable development challenges. It is our goal to engage the developer community to develop innovative applications in open source by leveraging the open data and knowledge available.

We are inviting developers, designers, open source contributors, bloggers, journalists and all FOSSASIA community members to be part of the UNESCO Hackathon. We are especially encouraging applications from the Mekong region to join the contest. The hackathon is open for all and awesome prizes are waiting for you!

For participants from outside of Singapore we have the possibility to host them in a Singapore hostel. Please apply here. The number is limited. UNESCO encourages the application of women and girls.

How do I sign up?

1. Get your ticket to the Event on eventyay.com.

2. Sign up on Devpost.

3. Join the Gitter channel at https://gitter.im/fossasia/hackathon (requires login with Github).

4. Find team members and create your team preferably at least 3 members and maximum 5 contributors. You are also welcome to sign up and then wait until the Presentation of Ideas on Saturday before deciding to join a team, however we’d encourage you to form/join a team in advance if you already have an idea that you’d like to work on.

5. Join the event at the Lifelong Learning Institute on Saturday, March 24 at the opening at 2.00 pm until 10.00 pm and on Sunday, March 25 from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm.

Visit the website at unesco.sciencehack.asia and stay connected, join the event on Facebook and Meetup and follow FOSSASIA on Twitter.

UNESCO Hackathon Schedule

Hackathon Opening: March 24, 2018

12.00 Registration Opens
14:00 Opening
14.10 Intro of Background, Rules and Prizes
14:20 Presentation of Ideas, Teams and Team Building Activities
15:00 Begin of Hacking Activities
19.30 Dinner
22:00 Closing of Space

Hackday: March 25, 2018

08:00 – 09:00 Breakfast
09:00 – 13:00 Hack Activities Continue
13:00 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 15:00 Hacking Continues
14:00 Submission Form Closes
15:15 – 16:00 Presentation of Outcome
16:00 Judges Withdraw for Consultation
16:30 Award Announcement and Ceremony
17:00 Summit Closing

Location/Venue

Lifelong Learning Institute

Address: 11 Eunos Road 8, Singapore 408601

Prizes

Prizes are awarded for three teams, and each team prize with a value of 1000 SGD. Win cool gear, hardware, raspis, Arduinos and more!

Project Submission Requirements

For the expected outcome of the hack, the applications or games shall be open source and use open data to tackle the climate change, environment and sustainable development challenges.

They shall address one or several of the following requirements:

  1. Respond to pressing environmental challenges at local, national or regional levels in Asia

  2. Enable the visualization of data in an innovative and/or easy-to-understand way

  3. Mobilize and create engagement of variety of stakeholders and sectors in society on climate change, environment and sustainable development

  4. Gender-sensitive prototype, recognizing or encouraging women’s participation in sustainable development

Functioning App

An important point is, is the prototype or showcase functioning? We prefer real code and design implementations over mockups.

What to enter

Please submit a link to the app, a Github repo link and a short presentation as a download or on Google drive (ensure it is set to public sharing). You can also share anything else to demonstrate your work and let us test it.

  • Video: The platform accepts links to YouTube, Vimeo or Youku. If you like you can post a short video to demonstrate your work.

  • File Upload: There is also an option to upload a file. The platform allows submitters to upload one file, though they can combine files into a single ZIP file.

  • Other: The platform requires contestants to enter an entry name and description. Please also accept the the conditions of the contest including sharing your work under certified Open Source license.

Platform

Share information about what operating systems or devices can your hack run on.

Ressources

Include information about API, SDK, or data set, that are required to run the app.

New vs. Existing

Any work done need to be new for the competition. Existing apps are not eligible. However the specific details what is acceptable and what is not will be determined by the jury. For example existing apps that have been modified substantially and include entirely new functionality would still be eligible.

Submission Rights & Display

The submissions should be Open Source and licensed under a compliant Open Source/Free Software license. They should be upload to a Github repository.

We also request the right to use the winners’ names and work to promote the competition and hackathons in future.

Links

UNESCO Hackathon: https://unesco.sciencehack.asia

FOSSASIA Summit: https://2018.fossasia.org

Tickets: https://eventyay.com/e/db15e7db/

Project Signup: https://fossasia-unesco.devpost.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/139329623548116/

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/FOSSASIA-Singapore-Open-Technology-Meetup/events/247899257/

FOSSASIA: https://twitter.com/fossasia

List of Open Data Resources in Asia

Data portals across Asia: http://dataportals.org
China: http://opendatachina.com
Singapore http://data.gov.sg
Indonesia: https://petabencana.id/map/jakarta
Cambodia: https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net
Thailand https://data.go.th, http://catalog.opendata.in.th
Vietnam: https://vietnam.opendevelopmentmekong.net/data/
World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org
India http://data.gov.in

Continue ReadingUNESCO Hackathon at FOSSASIA Summit in Singapore

Science Hack Day Singapore Nov 11 – 12, 2016

We are happy to announce our upcoming Science Hack Day Singapore! The event will take place on Nov 11 – 12, 2016 at Suntec Convention Centre Hall 401 as a part of the ICM Youth Festival.

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Registration is now open at Eventbrite.

There are limited seats for participants intending to take part in the programme for 2 days. Visitors to the ICM youth festival are welcome to visit the space and give their hands where required.

Add your hack ideas here 

Do not miss this opportunity to explore the wonder of Science, to team up with inspiring people around you and to enjoy the amazing working facilities at Suntec City. Join our event on facebook for further announcement. 

What is Science Hack Day?  

Science Hack Day is a two-day event where anyone excited about making weird, silly or serious things with science comes together in the same physical space to see what they can prototype. Designers, developers, scientists and anyone who is excited about making things with science are welcome to attend – no experience in science or hacking is necessary, just an insatiable curiosity. Recommended age is 13 and up, though younger students are welcome to attend, with parental accompaniment.

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The mission of Science Hack Day is to get excited and make things with science! People organically form multidisciplinary teams over the course of a weekend: particle physicists team up with designers, marketers join forces with open source rocket scientists, writers collaborate with molecular biologists, and developers partner with school kids. By collaborating on focused tasks during this short period, small groups of hackers are capable of producing remarkable results.

Tentative program 

Day 1 Friday Nov 11, 2016
11:00  Arrive and check-in
11:30 Welcome & introduction
11:45 Pitches and team building
12:15 Hack begins
13:30 Lunch break
14:30 Hacking continues
19:00 Door closes

Day 2 Saturday Nov 12, 2016 
11:00 Doors open
13:00 Lunch Break
15:00 Hack stops
15:30 Hack demos begin! (Typically 2-3 minutes per demo)
17:00 Winning teams announced 

Organizers

Science Hack Day Singapore is organised by Science Centre Singapore and FOSSASIA. Venue is sponsored by IDA

Continue ReadingScience Hack Day Singapore Nov 11 – 12, 2016

Science Hack Day Belgaum India 2016

Announcing Science Hack Day Belgaum India – 2016

We are excited to announce our 1st Science Hack Day India. The event will take place on 22-23 October 2016 at Belgaum, a small city surrounded by some splendid nature, in Karnataka State of India.

We welcome you all to join us at SHD Belgaum. Let’s collaborate, learn, hack, build cool stuff and have lots of fun.

Registration is now open at eventbrite.

For more announcements follow us on…

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What is Science Hack Day?

Science Hack Day is a two-day event where anyone excited about making weird, silly or serious things with science comes together in the same physical space to see what they can prototype within 30 consecutive hours. Designers, developers, scientists and anyone who is excited about making things with science are welcome to attend – no experience in science or hacking is necessary, just an insatiable curiosity.

The mission of Science Hack Day is to get excited and make things with science! People organically form multidisciplinary teams over the course of a weekend: particle physicists team up with designers, marketers join forces with open source rocket scientists, writers collaborate with molecular biologists, and developers partner with school kids. By collaborating on focused tasks during this short period, small groups of hackers are capable of producing remarkable results.

Venue

We have an amazing place called Sankalp Bhumi  Farm Resort for this event. It was once an abandoned quarry,  today natures glory restored. The resort resembles an enchanting oasis, with a thick set of trees, sprawling lawns, and a large lagoon surrounded by picturesque expansive rock walls as backdrop.

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Tentative Program

Day 1:

09:00 Arrive, check-in, eat breakfast (provided)
10:00 Welcome, introductions
10:30 Hacking begins!
10:45 Lightning talks
12:00 Lunch (provided)
13:00 Hacking continues
18:00 Door closes

Day 2:

09:00 Doors open, breakfast (provided)
12:00 Lunch (provided)
13:30 Hacking stops
14:00 Hack demos begin! (Typically 2-3 minutes per demo)
16:00 Winning teams announced & given awards/medals

Science Workshops

Along with hacking we also have Science Workshops for kids. Workshops will run parallel to the SHD. We will be making amazing science toys and solar lanterns 🙂

Organisers:

FOSSASIA India Team.

Praveen Patil, Hong Phuc Dang, Rahul Khanolkar

Website: http://sciencehack.in

Continue ReadingScience Hack Day Belgaum India 2016

Participate in FOSSASIA Summit 2016 in Science Center Singapore, March 18th-20th

Please join us at FOSSASIA 2016 in Singapore, the premier Open Technology event in Asia.

The event will take place from March 18-20 at the Singapore Science Center and already on 17th March the pgDay Asia conference is part of the pre-event activities.

The FOSSASIA weekend from Friday to Sunday is dedicated to the “Internet of Things and Me” covering open technologies and software that make todays connected devices run. In workshops kids can start learning with the Pocket Science Lab. In the Science Hack track attendees will learn how to participate in the Citizen Science community. Please:

More than 120 speakers from Asia and around the world will join the event from communities and companies such as Google, RedHat, and Github. There will be talks and hands on workshops on topics including:

  • Open Hardware, Makers, Internet of Things
  • Open Source Software, Data and Free Knowledge
  • DevOps, Docker, Programming languages, Python, Go, and more
  • Science Hacks and Open Design
  • Tech and Science for Kids

Info on the FOSSASIA Summit 2016 at the Event Website

Read the Call for Speakers here.

Join the FOSSASIA Meetup Group in Singapore and reserve your spot in workshops as soon as they are announced.

Follow us on Twitter.

Check out the photos from last year on Flickr.

Continue ReadingParticipate in FOSSASIA Summit 2016 in Science Center Singapore, March 18th-20th

Updates on FOSSASIA Activities – GSoC, Science Hack and Meshcon

FOSSASIA Participation in Google Summer of Code

An exciting summer is behind us, where we had lots of students coding on summer of code projects. Check out some of the outcome on our project repositories. For example the Open Event project, our twitter harvester and search engine loklak.net [repo] or the activities at our FashionTec knitapps project with lots of interesting blog articles.

FOSSASIA Science Hack

What else happened? FOSSASIA’s Hong Phuc is working on organizing Science Hack events across Asia in cooperation with Science Hack Day. She is now an official Ambassador. Congratulations! You can meet her in the US at the San Francisco Science Hack Day on October 24-25, 2015 at GitHub HQ.

FOSSASIA Participants Present at Meshcon @Maker Faire Berlin + Free Tickets

FOSSASIA participants are present at Meshcon@Maker Faire Berlin on Saturday, October 3rd. Meshcon brings together Mozilla’s Firefox Open Web makers, IoT experts, industry representatives, fashion designers, local producers, knitters, textile manipulators, software developers and DIY hardware makers. We will have a stand in the club area. So if you are there, please come over and talk to us.

And, if you are in Berlin and still need a ticket, we might be able to help you out. FOSSASIA is an official partner and we got free tickets. Please go to http://meshcon.net, choose your ticket and enter the code FLDUXH on the next page.

The event starts at 10am (until 6pm) on Sat. 3rd Oct. 2015 at Postbahnhof Club at Berlin Ostbahnhof. On top of topics around Fashion and technology, we are coding, doing usability tests and hack for refugees. The schedule of talks is available here: http://meshcon.net/schedule.pdf

130 projects will showcase their work at the Maker Faire. Workshops include FOSSASIA’s machine knitting project, 3D printing, and Arduino tinkering:

* http://www.meetup.com/FashionTec-Meetup-Berlin/

* http://www.meetup.com/OpenXLab/

* http://www.meetup.com/opentechschool-berlin/events/225532149/

Additional Info: http://meshcon.net | http://makerfaire.berlin

Location: Postbahnhof, Strasse der Pariser Kommune 8, 10243 Berlin

Continue ReadingUpdates on FOSSASIA Activities – GSoC, Science Hack and Meshcon