Event focuses on real-world solutions to civic challenges
The city of Akron and Launch League will host Hack N Akron, Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is an event where participants will hear from local civic leaders about the challenges they face, and are then tasked with crafting a solution to these challenges by the end of the day.
This event, also known as a hackathon, is designed to challenge the city, its citizens, and its corporations to collaborate, build, and present real-world solutions in just 12 hours. The goal is to help create a more transparent, more technologically advanced city. The event will be held at Wastebits, 365 Water Street in downtown Akron.
Said Mayor Dan Horrigan adds: “Attracting and retaining young talent is pivotal to the future of Akron, and this city has some unique opportunities, ripe for creative solutions. An event like Hack N Akron is an engaging way to reinforce our efforts: It can bring some fresh ideas to our city, while simultaneously empowering our younger generations to get involved in civic problem-solving.”
Aligning with Horrigan’s goals of increasing transparency, efficiency and collaboration, this event will focus on creating a platform where the city can begin to publish and share its data. A successful event would yield a basic API (Application Programming Interface), which is a set of routine definitions, protocols and tools for building software and applications, which would allow city data to be public-facing. City data would also need to be organized and standardized as a part of this process.
This concept, known as open data, is an idea that cities all over the country are beginning to embrace. Open government data is important because the more accessible, discoverable, and usable data is, the more impact it can have. These impacts can include, but are not limited to: cost savings, efficiency, fuel for business, improved civic services, informed policy, performance planning, research and scientific discoveries, transparency and accountability, and increased public participation in dialogue.
Interested in sponsoring? http://goo.gl/Pyfrd0
Interested in participating? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hack-n-akron-a-civic-hackathon-powered-by-launch-league-tickets-26767261600
