It’s time for #HackForHer – see you at the Spark a Smart Change Hackathon!

Register at http://womenhackph.eventbrite.com to join this Women Empowerment Hackathon

Are you interested in joining a women empowerment hackathon? You can still join! Register at:

http://womenhackph.eventbrite.com

We’d like to thank our friends from SPARK! for collaborating with SMARTDevNet with this hackathon.

WHAT IS THIS HACKATHON ALL ABOUT?

Make It Happen is the 2015 theme Women’s Day 2015, encouraging effective action for advancing and recognising women. This year’s Women’s Month celebration is especially significant as it marks 20 years since the United Nations laid down an agenda for women’s rights and gender equality in Beijing: the Beijing Platform for Action. In addition, 2015 is critical as the world seeks to define a new set of targets to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. SPARK! together with SMART Communications and the J. Amado Araneta Foundation join the call for women’s empowerment through ‘hacking the gender gap’.

WE’D LIKE TO SEE APPS CREATED WITH THESE THEMES / CHALLENGES IN MIND:

1. A call for the creation of Safe Spaces and Safe communities of women
One out of 5 women in the Philippines fall prey to different types of violence. There are many areas such as in Metropolitan Manila where vulnerabilities of women are high due to lack of security and poor facilities. Yet, women still pass through or commute through these areas everyday. Stories of women being kidnapped and raped while passing these areas haunt the news at an increasingly alarming rate.As it stands, there are no online portals that allow women to anonymously report incidents of violence. There is also a lack of means to track ‘safe spaces’ for women to use as well as the lack of means to be warned when entering a ‘danger zone’. We are looking for an online platform that will allow women to report incidents of violence as well as be able to capacitate women to identify safe spaces and warn them from danger zones via SMS, email and even through Facebook and Twitter.

2. A call for anti-corruption.
According to a 2008 report by UNIFEM, women are more vulnerable to the impact of corruption than men. This is particularly true of corruption in public service delivery. As women form a larger proportion of the poor and take primary responsibility for child care, they are more reliant on freely provided public services. As a result, corruption in public service delivery has a disproportionate impact on women.* The challenge is to create an app for Monitoring Good Governance and Transparency PlatformCorruption is the ultimate bane in the Philippines. Even the top officials in the land have not been spared by allegations of illegal use of public funds and personal enrichment at the expense of the ordinary Filipinos. It is widespread in public procurement, in customs collection and in the action of the authorities themselves. Public bidding in many cases is rigged and the speed of transactions is often dependent on the ‘pampadulas’ (money given under the table). The challenge is to crowd-source solutions that monitor public transactions while at the same time creating a platform that will allow citizens to directly act as watchdogs in the interest of good governance and transparency.

3. To encourage women and girls engagement in STEM.
Tools to make informed decisions related to critical aspects of their lives, including their health and in an age where many societal debates are linked to the risks and benefits of technological developments, women must be scientifically and technologically literate if they are to participate fully as citizens. Moreover, as more and more interactions go online, women and girls’ ability to engage with ICTs can create mechanisms to mobilize, build community, and advocate for their interests, rights and social transformation. The challenge is to address any or a combination of the many dimensions of getting girls and women in STEM in a way that responds to different types of access to ICTS such as a mobile app that teaches scientific concepts, or a game that inspires women to learn about her universe or a mobile app that connects a community of STEM girls to share stories.

What are you waiting for? Organize a team, register at http://womenhackph.eventbrite.com and see you at the hack!