It took only three days for creatives and tech enthusiasts to come together and develop innovative solutions to some of Jamaica’s biggest challenges.

How did they do this? Through ‘Hack the City’, an annual Kingston Creative and IDB Lab-funded event that focuses on finding solutions that will positively impact achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The hackathon resulted in the funding of apps that would address problems surrounding waste management, secure and safe travel, and improvement in public transportation.

Day one of Hack the City saw 42 participants engaging in a mixer which allowed them to network and form teams. The highlight of the evening was a talk on ‘Creativity and Social Impact’ led by Rhian Holder, senior manager, social development & M&E Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

Day two of the hackathon opened with a keynote address by UNESCO Yuri Peshkov, culture programme specialist, UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean, who spoke about the relevance of the SDGs to Jamaica and the role that creative practitioners can play in the achievement of global goals.

The teams started to create their ideas as they attended workshops on ideation, planning & cost formulation and pitch rehearsal. They were provided the chance to network with expert mentors from entities like the UN Development Programme (UNDP), JSIF, ZRISE, It’s Pixel Perfect, Biz Headstart, Slashroots, Alpha – The Three Wolves Limited, and the Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance (JTDA).

Kingston Creative Entrepreneurship Project Manager Tavia Benjamin commented, “The use of technology drives innovation in the creative sector and we believe that not only can meaningful ideas come out of the hack, but investable projects, long-term partnerships and businesses too.”

Five teams advanced to day three and pitched to a panel of judges: Dr Kadamawe K’nife, lecturer and researcher, The University of the West Indies; Lastarda Lee, chief technology officer, It’s Pixel Perfect; Jean-Claude Walters Dunn, founder of ZRISE; and Adrian Dunkley, president, Jamaica Technology and Digital Alliance.

The first place winner of Hack the City was team Kris N’ Klean, who won $150,000 towards the implementation of an application that would create an ecosystem to improve garbage collection.

The second place winner was team Swaze, who won $75,000 towards creating a tool that enhances the safety of travellers.

In third place, team Future Minds won a total of $25,000 towards the development of the ‘Du Road App’, that provides real-time data to commuters.

All ideas generated in the hackathons can be viewed at the following link: https://kingstoncreative.org/creative-hack-ideas/