Summer Hackathon

*** TRAVEL UPDATE ***

Hi folks apparently the train isn't running to Glenferrie. There are a number of other ways see:
http://ptv.vic.gov.au/live-travel-updates/article/sat-28-nov-metropolitan-trains-alamein-linebelgrave-linelilydale-line

On the 5th and 6th December 2015, individuals and groups from around Australia will be joining in to hack for humanity. If you're in Melbourne it would be great to see you at the RHoK Melbourne event.

We're looking for 'hackers' who are passionate about technology. They have varied skills and backgrounds including software developers, business analysts and graphic designers.

Our hackers will be working with changemakers from the community who are working to solve a problem, and have a vision for how technology can help reach their goals. This hackathon includes four new changemakers, and two returning changemakers from our last hackathon in June 2015.

Our goal is to bring organisations that have a social impact together with skilled technologists who want to make a difference, in an environment ideal for collaboration and innovation.

NEW CHANGEMAKERS

1. i.pee.freely

i.pee.freely is attempting to increase the awareness and uptake of fully accessible ‘Changing Places’ toilets for people with a disability. Our aim is to make more people aware of the need for these facilities and build community campaigns to see more built in the places that matter. By doing so we can decrease the social and economic isolation of more people with disabilities.

2. Right Click

Right Click is a very early stage Social Enterprise that pairs teenagers with seniors to teach them how to use technology like iPads, computers & phones. The ultimate aim is to eventually have young people run their own Right Click Hubs in their communities. We need a website that is appealing & accessible for both seniors & teens and which contains all the resources required for anyone to run a Right Click Hub anywhere.

3. FoodUP!

Food UP! is a small-scale vertical farm to produce food and recycle organic waste, supported by a food swapping mobile app. Their mission is to promote and implement vertical farming in developed urban areas of the world, while promoting innovative indoor farming techniques in developing countries to pave the way for future techno-agricultural advancements.

4. On a Roll 21

On A Roll 21 is a research and evidence based social gaming platform that connects people and encourages them to carry out 21 daily missions based on the principles of positive psychology and neuroscience. Each day, an activity is generated at the roll of a 21-sided digital dice. Participants are asked to upload a photo or comment as “proof” of having performed their task, sharing their experience with other group members. Likes and inspirational comments can be posted in response and new social contacts can be developed through the private messaging function.

RETURNING CHANGEMAKERS

5. Melbourne Maker Maps

There is a lack of connectivity between all types of makers, and spaces supporting makers around Melbourne and its neighbouring communities. This project is an open source, maker map resource, designed to replace the backend of an existing system for robustification of data source, providing a platform for growth. At the most recent hackathon in June 2015, options were added for resource sharing of materials and skills. The plan now is to provide better categorisation of resources, and the integration of other platforms for events and content.

6. Local Linguist

Local Linguist is an app developed at the Melbourne 2015 Winter Hackathon to help collect data on local languages. The idea was inspired by the problems encountered by the changemaker, Katrina Langford, in doing linguistics research in East Timor. The idea behind the app is to enable local researchers to collect and transmit data from the field to a database. This data will initially be used to help create relevant resources for mother tongue programs in Timor-Leste, but can also be used for other linguistic research. The app is currently at the stage of user testing. However, there is also a dream to have some sort of app creation website that can define the data to be collected in the app. This would mean that anyone with a reasonable amount of computer literacy would be able to define the data to be collected, enabling researchers to eventually collect information about all languages of Timor-Leste, in order to increase literacy for speakers of these languages.