Up to 25 Full Travel Scholarships Will Provide Software and Application Developers with the Opportunity to Create Innovative Climate Information and Early Weather Alert Messaging Apps
(United Nations Development Program) – UNDP’s Programme on Climate Information for Resilient Development in Africa (CIRDA) is inviting software
developers, mobile application gurus and innovation specialists to Livingstone, Zambia from March 15-17 to
participate in the Climate Action Hackathon. This exciting event will generate ideas and early prototypes for mobile
and online applications to provide climate and weather information to protect the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable
African communities adapting to climate change.
The UNDP will provide up to 25 travel scholarships for “hackers” to cover their travel, lodging and meals during this
event that will run in parallel to the UNDP workshop “The Last Mile: Saving lives, improving livelihoods and increasing
resiliency through tailored weather information services for a changing climate.”
“Hackers” will work individually or in teams to create mobile applications, messaging solutions or data management
systems that address Africa’s persistent challenges in adapting to climate change, and share early warnings and
accurate climate information across the continent. Climate Action Hackathon participants will be supplied with raw
weather and climate data as well as access to global experts in meteorology, climatology, technology, and
communications from the UNDP, IRI and the Brown Institute- a collaboration between Columbia University and
Stanford University designed to encourage and support new endeavors in media innovation.
“The main goal of the hackathon is to find ways the application development community can help African weather
services bridge the last mile with practical solutions to help people prepare and protect themselves from more
frequent and severe storms, erratic weather patterns and long-term climate change,” said CIRDA Programme
Manager Bonizella Biagini.
Resources
Learn more about the Climate Action Hackathon and apply for a travel scholarship at http://www.undp-alm.org/climate-action-hackathon. Deadline is February 17.
The CIRDA Programme
UNDP’s Programme on Climate Information for Resilient Development in Africa (CIRDA) supports Climate Information
and Early-Warning Systems Projects in 11 of Africa’s Least Developed Countries in their missions to save lives and
improve livelihoods. By building capacity to issue extreme weather warnings, sharing new technological advances in
weather monitoring and forecasting, and facilitating innovative partnerships with the private sector, the programme
works to foster regional cooperation, support strong institutions and build resiliency to climate change.
The Brown Institute for Media Innovation
The Brown Institute was established in 2012 by a gift from Helen Gurley Brown, long time editor of Cosmopolitan
Magazine, in honor of her late husband David Brown, a filmmaker producing works like Jaws and Driving Miss Daisy.
The Institute is a bi-coastal collaboration between Stanford’s School of Engineering and Columbia’s Graduate School of
Journalism. Its mission is to sponsor thinking, building and speculating about how stories are discovered and told in a
networked, digitized world.
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