Indonesian software developers invited to help solve humanitarian issues

On December 4 and 5, the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction will host the Jakarta-leg of Random Hacks of Kindness. Indonesia’s top software engineers are invited to participate in this global event.

The event will bring together software engineers and disaster management experts for a 48-hour “hackathon”. The participants will create software solutions to improve responses to natural disasters, reduce their impact and help save lives.

Random Hacks of Kindness will take place simultaneously in 20 cities around the world. The Jakarta event is supported by the Australian Government, Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB and DailySocial.net.

Dr Matt Hayne, the Co-Director of the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction, said he was proud to host the third global hackathon.

“Indonesia is extremely prone to natural hazards, so this is an important event,” Dr Hayne said. “It will bring together some of Indonesia’s brightest software engineers to help us develop innovative solutions to disaster management problems.”

The hackathon concept was developed by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA and The World Bank. The first event was held in California in November 2009 and resulted in applications used on the ground during the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. The winning application from the second hackathon, from Washington D.C, helped engineers visualise landslide-risks to help guide urban and rural planning and development.

To register for the Jakarta-leg of Random Hacks of Kindness visit: http://www.rhok.org/events/rhok-2/.

Media Enquiries:
Mia Salim (AusAID Public Affairs) 2550-5490 / 08121070237