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Last weekend, SealightEnt.com and the Future Salon LA organized Hack for LA Hackathon in Boyle Heights as a part of the nationwide chain of events to celebrate the National Day of Civic Hacking.
The National Day of Civic Hacking focused on mobilizing entrepreneurs and coders to solve community problems by using public data and is backed by The White House (15 federal agencies participated too!). Event organizer Josie Roman of SeaLight filled us in on LA’s hackathon event and revealed some pretty impressive stats about the weekend:
-11,000 participants in the 96 National Day of Civic Hacking events across the nation; events included hackathons (like the Hack for LA Hackathon), block parties and community classes in 80 cities.
-$25,000 was given away in prizes at Hack for LA Hackathon. Sponsors included will.i.am’s i.am.angel Foundation, New Economy Campaigns, AT&T, Google, Amazon, Scopely, CGI, Chase Bank, memBRAIN, ESRI, NuoDB and Factual.
“The prizes allow for the teams to self-fund some additional work and a representative of the City of LA was very interested in connecting with some teams after the hackathon,” Roman said.
-410 people attended Hack for LA Hackathon and utilized public data for the common good!
“Representatives were on site assisting the teams on how to integrate the data,” Roman said. “Teams incorporated APIs for data search and were able to demonstrate live during their presentations.”
-40 apps were created. In the “Best Hack Overall” category, Hack for Jobs placed first, Urban Fruitly placed second and Boyle Heights Connect placed third. The i.am.angel Best Boyle Heights Award went to the WatupBoyleHeights app.
-15 minute surveys are being sent out by National Day of Civic Hacking organizers nationwide.
“The findings will be shared with organizers around the country to build even stronger civic hacking communities!” Roman said.
-6/30 is the last day for teams nationwide to submit their projects from the weekend! The White House will be holding a showcase at the end of July, inviting several National Day of Civic Hacking groups to share their projects as well as partners such as Intel.
“This is their chance to share their project or story,” Roman said. “This isn't about picking the best but about showcasing what is possible. Now teams can submit their projects and stories. The final deadline is June 30th but there will be rolling acceptances throughout June - so submitting early may increase chances quite a bit.”
So if you attended Hack for LA Hackathon or any other National Day of Civic Hacking event this weekend, submit your project now! If your work is chosen, you will be personally invited to the White House to attend the event and share your vision!
