What we have achieved

The value that we aim to provide can be provided into two categories: direct and indirect impact.

Direct impact

The direct impact that we generate constitutes of the output from the hackathons - the solutions that are created and presented by the end of each hackathon, by the participants. These solutions are open for anyone to review and are published under open source license (read more about open source here). These solutions vary in both complexity, approach and technical depth. Some solutions may provide a unique and new approach to the related challenge, while some solutions may combine proven methods, applied in a new way or in combination with new technology. Some solutions may be of deep technical nature to demonstrate the implementation, while other may take a more theoretical approach. While all solutions are directed at a specific challenge many may be applicable for similar issues, or even to a completely different topic. As all solutions are published under open-source license, impact can be maximized - each solution allowed to inspire additional implementations or “re-used” by others - maximizing the impact.

In-direct impact

Apart from the direct impact generated by our valued participants during each hackathon, we also believe that the hackathons that we organize can help inspire others - both individuals and organizations. All participants that take part in our hackathons (hackers, partners and case contributors) do so on the conditions and values that constitutes our purpose and mission. We believe that the impact that we work to generate can only be maximized in collaborations with others. We are open to collaborate with anyone that wishes to participate, as long as we agree and share the same values and intention. Our hope is that our hackathons can serve as a meeting place, for anyone who is interested to contribute, or who is simply interested in the concept of hackathons or open source. We aim to do our best to maximize the in-direct impact that constitutes of the connections and meetings that take place during each hackathon. We are always open to form new collaborations and are also open to share our expertise on organizing humanitarian hackathons.

12 hackathons organized

Since 2015 we have organized 12 independent hackathons under the flag of “coding for humanity”, in accordance with our core values and mission criteria’s. Apart from these hackathons we have also helped organize more than 10 additional hackathons, either as co-organizer or as hackathon provider (most of which where also directly linked to social and/or humanitarian impact).

1200 hackers engaged

Through the 12 “coding for humanity”-hackathons, we have engaged more than 1200 hackers, engineers, designers and impact makers - all sharing the common interest for technology and the will to contribute for a better tomorrow.

35 case contributors supported

For every “coding for humanity”-hackathon organized we have had the ability to engage numerous organizations that work hard to improve the world we share - there organizations (including Red Cross, UNHCR, Sida and Unicef to mention a few) have each contributed with presenting their respective challenges and domain expertise, working together with the participants to generate impact.

60 humanitary challenges tackled

In total, the case contributors of our hackathons, have provided and presented more than 60 challenges, each as important as the other, although each one unique both in nature and complexity.

300 open source solutions published

For each challenge presented, 5 potential solutions have been submitted (in total approximately 300 solutions) - all with the potential to fully- or partially solve the challenge presented. All solutions have been submitted under open-source license and are available for anyone to review on Github.

(all) 17 UN SDG’s covered

Through the various challenges presented, all 17 of the UN SDG’s are covered. We believe all global goals are equally important and are equally a suitable topic for our hackathons.

30 ideas realized

From the 300 solutions submitted through our hackathons, almost 30 have been realized (one way or the other).

Testimonies

We are both proud and humble to be trusted by our partners. Here is what they have to say.

Success stories

Below a few success stories - solutions that have sprung from our hackathons and have been pursued further. We are always amazed by the innovation, brilliance and dedication of the people behind the solutions. We are proud to share their story, for your convenience and inspiration.

Looking forward

Allthough we are proud of all that we have achieved together with our partners and even more so what we have witnessed our community of hackers achieve - we are far from satisfied.

Our aim is to continue to evolve our concept and spread our vision or how to leverage hackathons as a method for humanitarian and social impact.

One of our commitments in achieving this is to improve the way that we measure impact. If we can improve our understanding of the impact that we measure, we can get more effective in our efforts, maximizing the potential impact generated.