As the OECD Digital Economy Ministerial brought together stakeholders this week in Cancun, Mexico to discuss the ways in which the digital economy has enabled global innovation, growth and social prosperity, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD in cooperation with the Mexican government and the OECD organized a coding contest, known as a Hackathon, to demonstrate the power of digital innovation.
On June 20-21, teams of coders gathered in Cancun to compete for several awards and cash prizes by developing apps within the following categories: cultural heritage, smart city, social inclusion and entrepreneurship. The winning team was announced at the OECD Ministerial dinner whose speakers included OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría. USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.
“This has been an exciting example of public-private collaboration here at the 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial,” Robinson said as he introduced the Hackathon category winners at the Ministerial gala. “This contest for young coders and app developers attracted nearly 200 participants from both OECD and non-OECD Member countries – demonstrating that the potential for innovative talent knows no boundaries.”
Robinson, Gurria and Guajardo then presented the Hackathon category and grand prize winners:
Smart City Category Winner – Nisi Vitae
They developed an app that enables a user to automatically provide all of their medical information to emergency response personnel when calling for an ambulance.
Entrepreneurship Category Winner – Autonomi
This team developed an app that is aimed at increasing security and independence for the visually impaired.
Cultural Heritage Category Winner – Time Stamps
Their app makes studying history more immersive for teenagers.
Social Inclusion Category Winner – VR-ehab
They developed an app that converts physical rehabilitation into a game using an Android Virtual Reality environment and a hand movement detection system.
Grand Prize Winner – Nisi Vitae
As the U.S. affiliate of BIAC, USCIB has played an active role in planning the Hackathon. The Hackathon was also made possible by the following USCIB member sponsors: AT&T, Cisco, Disney, Google, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft and Verisign.
