The Hackathon involved global and local technology experts, including Saudi women and youth, to pitch technology innovations on enhancing the Hajj experience. Themes included crowd management, food, health, finance, traffic control, travel, housing, communications, and waste management during the Hajj, which sees 2 million pilgrims annually over a space of days. The Hajj will take place from August 19-24 this year. Many of the same sites in KSA will host large numbers of pilgrims over other times of the year.
The organisers said in a statement that the “participation of women in the Hajj Hackathon is a visible demonstration of the Saudi 2030 Vision of empowering women”, adding: “This initiative is part of the Kingdom’s commitment to stimulating innovation and assuming regional and global leadership in technology. It serves to focus the young and vibrant creative energies emerging in the Kingdom, providing diverse opportunities for them and helping to achieve the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.”
 |
| Source: Center for International Communication, KSA. Saud Al-Qahtani, the adviser to the Royal Court, and founder of the Saudi Federation for Cyberescurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), which organised the Hajj Hackathon, received the Guinness Certificate from the Guinness World Records’ Arbitrator, Ahmed Jabr. |
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, attended the opening ceremony. Lebanon’s Rayan Al-Zahab, the first Arab woman hired as a developer by Google also attended. Sponsor Google offered mentorship services and training for participants.
“In tech, of course, we have a really serious problem with the lack of female talent throughout the entire industry, so it’s fantastic to see that, here, women are being supported in pursuing programming and technology as a career. I think it’s really an amazing and wonderful thing,” Wales said.
In line with Vision 2030 goals, the event aimed to create a platform that further cultivates Saudi tech talent. SAFCSP offered monetary prizes for the top three finalists, to be used in product development and marketing.
The Turjuman instant translation application from a KSA team won first place, while a Hajj Wallet solution from an Egyptian team won second place. Software called Visions (رؤية) from an Algerian team was placed third. An excellence award was given to Team I 007 for proposing an e-camp management solution. Proposals were judged on design, simplicity, creativity and impact.
The Turjuman app installs QR codes on the instructions signs which shows their translated version in the pilgrims’ languages, with no need for an Internet connection, while the Hajj Wallet enables a pilgrim’s phone to pay for purchases after linkage to a credit card or via cash deposit. The Visions app allows families to be updated on where their family members are during the Hajj by identifying their locations and taking their photos.
 |
| Source: SAFCSP. Team Turjuman (in black) are announced as the first-prize winners for the first Hajj Hackathon. |
The all-female team of Saudi computer developers and programmers behind Turjuman included Ragda Al Qadi, Samaher Al Houthali and Rawan Al Matrafi. Saud Al-Qahtani, adviser to the Royal Court, and founder of hackathon organisers SAFCSP, wrote on Twitter: “As a Saudi citizen, I do not hide my joy and pride in the daughters of this generous country.” He said that the fact that this team of Saudi young women are first place winners is “an indication of the continuing success and excellence in the process of empowering Saudi women.”
The competition’s eight-member judging panel included Wozniak, who was appointed by SAFCSP as an ambassador for the Saudi TechHub. Al-Qahtani said the appointment reflects a desire to leverage one of the best modern minds to help KSA’s efforts to become a regional high-tech hub. Wozniak said the remarkable development he witnessed in how the KSA is approaching technology, and its Vision 2030 roadmap for the future, had persuaded him to accept the ambassadorship.
Wozniak was also Head of Arbitration at the Hajj Hackathon, and noted Saudis have a lot of interest in programming and computer technologies. He predicted that KSA could soon be the region’s key hub for technology.
The grand prize offered SR1 million in return for 15% equity investment; free tickets to the Google I/O 2019 developers conference in the US for 2019; a Google Home Mini with the Google Assistant built in; Google Cloud credits, as well as free tickets for RiseUp Summit 2018 in Egypt. The summit is the MENA region's innovation and entrepreneurship conference. There were also prizes for the top 20 teams.
Noura Alabdulkareem, CEO of the Social Development Bank, also revealed that the Social Development Bank has created a SR30 million funding arm to further the initiative.
“The funds will be free of interest for entrepreneurial projects proposed during the Hajj Hackathon,” Alabdulkareem said in a speech. “Moreover, we will work on developing projects nominated for receiving funds through an extensive training boot-camp to develop their launch plans and link them to a quality mentorship programme.”
Al-Qahtani added: “The huge interest in the technical and technological sector is reflected in the general plans of the state, as it is one of the main objectives pursued by the kingdom in its Vision 2030 under the supervision, follow-up and direct support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
The Saudi Press Agency highlighted Japanese participants for wearing Saudi national costume at the event as an expression of their love for the Saudis and appreciation of KSA's role in promoting the culture of skills acquisition among young people.
The General President of the Holy Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque Affairs Sheikh Dr Abdulrahman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais has praised the Hajj Hackathon, the Saudi Press Agency separately reported. He said that it is a national competition serving the religious ritual and holy places.
Explore:
Watch video of the opening ceremony for the Hajj Hackathon
Hashtag: #Hajj_Hackathon, #هاكاثون_الحج
The grand prize offered SR1 million in return for 15% equity investment; free tickets to the Google I/O 2019 developers conference in the US for 2019; a Google Home Mini with the Google Assistant built in; Google Cloud credits, as well as free tickets for RiseUp Summit 2018 in Egypt. The summit is the MENA region's innovation and entrepreneurship conference. There were also prizes for the top 20 teams.
Noura Alabdulkareem, CEO of the Social Development Bank, also revealed that the Social Development Bank has created a SR30 million funding arm to further the initiative.
“The funds will be free of interest for entrepreneurial projects proposed during the Hajj Hackathon,” Alabdulkareem said in a speech. “Moreover, we will work on developing projects nominated for receiving funds through an extensive training boot-camp to develop their launch plans and link them to a quality mentorship programme.”
Al-Qahtani added: “The huge interest in the technical and technological sector is reflected in the general plans of the state, as it is one of the main objectives pursued by the kingdom in its Vision 2030 under the supervision, follow-up and direct support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
The Saudi Press Agency highlighted Japanese participants for wearing Saudi national costume at the event as an expression of their love for the Saudis and appreciation of KSA's role in promoting the culture of skills acquisition among young people.
The General President of the Holy Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque Affairs Sheikh Dr Abdulrahman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sudais has praised the Hajj Hackathon, the Saudi Press Agency separately reported. He said that it is a national competition serving the religious ritual and holy places.
Explore:
Watch video of the opening ceremony for the Hajj Hackathon
Hashtag: #Hajj_Hackathon, #هاكاثون_الحج