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Shaping the future of African galleries, libraries, archives and museums through hackathon

Shaping the future of African galleries, libraries, archives and museums through hackathon

The Goethe-Institut Johannesburg is inviting creative and tech pioneers all over sub-Saharan Africa to apply for the ‘Hack Ur Culture’ hackathon.

‘Hack Ur Culture’ is a virtual platform that brings together galleries, libraries, archives and museums with creative minds and tech enthusiasts to bring about collaborations and innovations deriving from open cultural data.

In 2020, galleries, libraries, archives and museums have been severely hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic losing their audiences since the start of the lockdown. This extended period without foot traffic through their doors has forced these institutions to consider what a virtual future looks like.

This hackathon is an opportunity for brave young minds to lead in the development of innovative solutions that will be used by some of the continents most reputable galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

“As we begin taking the first steps to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic we are all responsible for building a new normal that will shape our future. With digital experiences and a shared economy at the heart of that, how can we help make cultural heritage data more open and accessible to all of us,” Goethe Institute said.

This hackathon is open to enthusiastic young professionals in the creative and cultural industries across sub-Saharan Africa, inclusive of game developers, app developers,
designers, researchers, media makers, journalists and writers.

The hackathon is kicking off on South African Heritage Day, 24 September 2020. The hackathon will run for a period of 3 weeks with final project submissions due on Sunday, 18
October 2020 at 23:59. There will be a virtual prize-giving to announce the winners on a date to be announced.

The winning team earns a spot to participate in the Coding Da Vinci hackathon taking place in Germany in 2021 (April or August, depending on International travel restrictions).
Additionally, there will be supporting awards for impressive projects that will receive exciting cash/product prizes to be announced in the coming weeks. Winning projects will be featured
in the Fak’ugesi 2020 exhibition.

Visit the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg website and social media platforms for more information.


 

About The Author

Donald Matthys

Donald Matthys has been part of the media fraternity since 2015. He has been working at the Namibia Economist for the past three years mainly covering business, tourism and agriculture. Donald occasionally refers to himself as a theatre maker and has staged two theatre plays so far. Follow him on twitter at @zuleitmatthys