Global Entrepreneur Hackathon for Education

This fall, 70 young adults will congregate in Croatia for 10×10, a hackathon to tackle challenges facing education on a global level.

Innovative technology is poised to revolutionize the way people learn on a global level. With countries from around the world being represented on teams, the diversity in cultures and experience will contribute to new perspectives on such a universal subject as education.

10×10 is open to developers, designers, and non-technical people who want the chance to create original solutions to improve education for millions worldwide. Selected participants will be provided with travel to Croatia as well as accommodations while competing in the hackathon.

The hackathon will be held directly before the GEC2, a gathering where policymakers and entrepreneurs will discuss the Entrepreneurial Mindset. The competition will be a hands-on experience for young people to demonstrate ways in which the next generation of entrepreneurs can make a difference in a global context.

The topics teams may explore are endless, but we are proposing a few critical challenges to education worldwide to start team brainstorms. The challenges include:

  • Access to education;
  • Quality of education;
  • Funding of education;
  • Entrepreneurial education;
  • Access to mentors; and
  • Access to education across borders.

Enroll Today will kick off with short talks from experts in the field highlighting major obstacles facing education. On-site mentors to help with business ideas and developer support will be provided to assist teams as they collaborate to create innovative products.

Learn more about 10×10 and apply to join us in Croatia if you have what it takes to hack education for the greater good!

TAGS: 10X10, GEC2, HACKATHON, YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Prince and Essence Partner for Innovation Fund

Prince and Essence Partner for Innovation Fund

The Rebuild The Dream Innovation Fund is partnering with Essence and Prince to launch our newest initiative, #YesWeCode, at the 20th Annual Essence Festival on July 4-7 in New Orleans.  On Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, Essence Magazine released the following press release, announcing this partnership.

#YesWeCode asks: What if you were given the opportunity to flip the current American status quo / economic landscape upside down? What if youth from the east side of Detroit, the southside of

#YesWeCode is a response to the negative image of low-opportunity youth in America. The unnerving death of Trayvon Martin has given us an opportunity to create a bold, game-changing strategy.

Chicago, the fourth quarter of New Orleans, etc. came together in collaboration to build amazing game-changing apps, support one another in partnership, mentorship and entrepreneurship and to begin elevating the condition of low-opportunity neighborhoods across the country? What if we mobilized the nation around the #YesWeCode initiative to train at least 100,000 youth from low-opportunity neighborhoods to become high-level computer programmers?

#YesWeCode is a response to the negative image of low-opportunity youth in America. The unnerving death of Trayvon Martin has given us an opportunity to create a bold, game-changing strategy.

“I always remember how Trayvon Martin’s hoodie was seen as a justification for his murder,” says Van Jones, the founder of The Rebuild the Dream Innovation Fund and #YesWeCode.  “But billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wears hoodies — and nobody shoots at him. So let’s flip the script: let’s give our hoodie-wearing youth the same tools, training and technology that the kids taking over Silicon Valley have. I hope #YesWeCode creates 100,000 ‘Mark Zuckerberg’s’ — and that a whole lot of them look just like Trayvon Martin.”

So, what if youth of color, girls, and low-income youth were given the space and motivation to “geek-out” during a hack-a-thon, a robotics competition or a pitch mixer? Is that the secret sauce to increasing their economic employability and their neighborhood’s social prosperity? No, not entirely. You are. And you’re equipped with all the tools they’ll need – energy, excitement, wisdom, cultural values and tradition, coding knowledge, business and investment “know-how”, passion for economic justice, a commitment to thriving communities and to diversifying technology innovation.

Join the movement.  Become a part of #YesWeCode.

3 Reasons Why You Should Go to Hackathons

3 Reasons Why You Should Go to Hackathons

Here are a three main reasons why women should attend hackathons:

It’s the Best Way to Learn

Hackathons have provided a really powerful vehicle for getting new people into the tech world. They provide the perfect opportunity to dive in and learn a ton. It doesn’t matter how basic or advanced your skills are, hackathon will be a great place to learn something new.

Become Part of the Community

There’s no better place to get more involved with the tech community than at hackathons. You will make friends, have fun and possibly even find co-founders for your startup. So whether you are an experienced hacker, CS major or just taking a peek at the tech world, you should start with attending your first hackathon.

Create a Ripple Effect

We have gotten really good at convincing young males to attend hackathons. Leaders in the male-dominated hackathon community have convinced their male friends to join. After someone goes to their first good hackathon, that person immediately begins asking when the next hackathon is, and the next thing you know, they have become evangelists themselves, inviting their friends.

We can achieve this same outcome with women. Already, leaders like Tess Rinearson, Katie Siegel, Amy Chen, and Taylor Barnett are taking up the mantle in their own communities.

If you’re a female or male leader in the tech community, reach out to your female friends and invite them to the next hackathon you’re going to.

If you’re reading this post and interested in tech, sign up for the next hackathon near you and make sure to bring at least one other female friend with you. Having her there would make it less intimidating if you’re going for the first time and would make a double impact.

Here are a few places to start looking for hackathons and getting involved with the community:

  • Meetup groups
  • Student-focused hackathons. They have special tickets at the Michigan Hackathon for women and are organizing a free bus from any city in the US that has the most women sign up: bit.ly/hackathonseason2
  • Railsbridge – a non-profit focused on helping women learn to code
  • Hacker League has a list of upcoming hackathons worldwide

read more > 

and now…hackfit!

 

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