UAE’s Arab Youth Center Launches Inaugural Arab Youth Hackathon to Help Tackle COVID-19 Challenges

Prompting Arab youth to mobilise in the efforts to combat challenges brought on by the coronavirus crisis, the UAE’s Arab Youth Center -- a platform dedicated to realising youth potential and to support innovation and creativity -- has announced the launch of the inaugural Arab Youth Hackathon.

The theme is ‘Youth’s Role in Times of Crises’, a mantra that encourages Arab youth to participate with the goal of contributing viable and creative solutions to the onslaught of issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hackathon is a partnership with both regional and international platforms such as Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, Bahrain's Ministry of Youth and, Kuwait’s Youth Public Authority, The Crown Prince Foundation of Jordan and Accenture, an Irish born multinational Fortune Global 500 company that provides digital solutions and strategies.

The hackathon invites young thinkers up to the age of 35 from all across the region to participate in challenges about six different topics, those include: education, economics, food security, social responsibility, healthcare and employment. The goal is to create tech solutions that are sustainable and actionable that will be reviewed by an expert jury comprising reps and figures of the institutions behind the initiative after all submissions have been turned in. Three winners will receive a monetary prize and the chance to bring their ideas to life as successful solutions.

“The Arab Youth Hackathon is the first open platform of its kind for Arab youth to share its views and visions of the solutions required to overcome the challenges we are facing today,” said His Excellency Saeed Al-Nazari, Director General of the Federal Youth Authority and Chief Strategy Officer of the Arab Youth Center. “The careful selection of the six vital sectors testify to the relevance and strategic impact the hackathon is set to have in finding viable solutions for sustainable development.”

Davide Capitanio, Innovation Strategy and Ventures Lead for Accenture in the Middle East stated “We are very excited to be part of the Arab Youth Hackathon that ensures we are building the youth’s resilience, encouraging their brightest ideas, and nurturing their invaluable critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. We look forward to using our collective expertise to promote and accelerate creative solutions by tomorrow’s leaders in combating this pandemic.” 

The hackathon will take place online spanning 3 weeks starting May 12th to May 31st. Head here for more info and to apply.