September 19, 2020 @ 9:00 am - September 25, 2020 @ 3:00 pm
Free
A Hackathon For Everyone
Until now, you needed to be a coder to participate in a hackathon. To code, you needed the benefit of a good education. You needed to be able to afford a computer, software, and broadband. And you needed a passion for coding.
Not anymore.
CODE, CARVE, SING, DANCE, WRITE
At Z HACKS, your project entry can be code, OR any form of ART: a dance, a song, a poem, artwork, a short story, a sculpture, just about anything. Why? Because you care about inclusivity.
Why Z?
Z is for Gen Z. Z is for Zentreprenuer. Z is for Zeitgeist. You are the change needed in the world for our most pressing challenges.
From wealth to education, housing to homeless, your project will increase the awareness of disparities for underserved communities. How do we address police brutality? Democracy? Affordable housing?
Environment
Our oceans are polluted with plastics, our air unbreathable, our drinking water has lead, our housing is not energy efficient. How can we inspire and help entire communities to reduce our emissions? Reuse? Recycle?
Pandemic
COVID 19 is not our first health crisis, nor our last. How do we help those at high risk? How do we create vibrant supply chains, fast vaccine testing, better PPE designs, better signage and solutions for restaurants, stores, etc. How do we help small businesses and performers stay afloat during Shelter-in-Place?
ELIGIBILITY
This event is open to anyone who attended school in 2019, or will attend in 2020-21. Schools can include public, private, online, full time or part time. Physical prizes to US only. Coders and Artists are welcome. As per our Code of Conduct, there is no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, economic status, veteran status, disability, or age. Anyone younger than 16 will be required to submit the Parental Consent Agreement.
REQUIREMENTS
Participants need to write code or create art that helps solve one of the many challenges we face: social justice, environment, or pandemics. Submit a 3-5 minute video presentation of the final project. Project must be started and finished during the event: 5 days. Finalists will participate in a 15 minute Zoom video conference with the judges for their category. More detailed instructions in Rules.
AWARD DISTRIBUTION
The purse is expected to grow to more than $50,000 (Become a Sponsor). The exact amount will be announced on September 18, 2020. Winners will choose a non-profit organization to donate the majority of the purse, and keep up to 10% to fund their next brilliant project. Attend a Clinic (see Resources) to get an extra point towards your final score. The following non-profits are designees but not limited to:
Black Lives Matter – a decentralized movement in the United States advocating for non-violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against African-American people.
Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay – addresses affordable homeownership in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. In our coastal region, there is a growing gap between house prices and what the local workforce can afford. One in three households spends more than 50% of their income on housing.
Digital NEST – a youth workforce development and empowerment center located in Watsonville and Salinas, CA, has moved all of their in-person classroom curricula online and has found new ways to support a community in need.
