Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, on Wednesday launched "Hope Hackathon" initiative, as part of "Gamers Without Borders by Saudi" tournament, which is the largest championship in the world of e-sports that the Kingdom recently launched. The hackathon, which has been launched in strategic partnership with Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) and STC, aims to create new innovative business models, come up with solutions that can help overcome the current crisis and face future crises, and encourage digital innovations and highlight the technical capabilities and skills of the world's youth in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The hackathon will start participants' registration May 8, by visiting the link: www.hopehackathon.com, and through its three tracks — digital health, electronic games and home entertainment. Commenting on the hackathon, Dr. Ahmed Al-Thunayan, deputy minister for technology and digital capacities development at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, explained that the ministry with its partners and seeks employs its capabilities through the event to support efforts to address challenges like COVID-19 and preparing for future changes by depending on the capabilities of young talents and promising minds at the global level. The winning projects will receive financial rewards amounting to SR1 million, where the first five winners will be honored in each of the three tracks. For his part, Engineer Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Kanhal, the senior vice president for institutional affairs at the STC said that the company's contribution and participation in the international hackathon Initiative comes in line with its continuous support in motivating entrepreneurs and innovators as part of its efforts to enable digital transformation and enrich the life of society. — SG
