RISE, the Research and Innovation Center of Excellence and the team of hack{cyprus} have co-organized the HackTheCrisisCyprus online hackathon (Hack-From-Home), April 3-5 2020. HackTheCrisisCyprus was organized under the auspices of the Digital Champion of Cyprus, Dr Stelios Chimonas.
The aim of the hackathon was to find solutions to problems created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. RISE wanted to give people the opportunity to apply their skills, knowledge, experience and talents to propose solutions to the problems faced by small and large businesses, citizens, the government, local authorities and others. We also wanted to give the people of Cyprus the opportunity to raise issues and problems that they encounter in their day-to-day activities in this unprecedented situation. The idea for HackTheCrisisCyprus, was inspired by the example of Estonia, which we have followed as a model to organize our “Hack The Crisis” initiative. At the moment, there are many similar hackathons taking place around the world with great success in countries such as Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Italy, Canada, Australia, Brazil and many more. Many amazing and applicable ideas have been developed at these hackathons to provide solutions to problems varying from, inventing alternative protective masks for hospitals, to helping businesses with cash-flow issues, to finding innovative ways for people needing help to connect with people that can provide it, and many more.
