Two Days of Random Hacks of Kindness Hacking Kicks off in Washington, D.C.

The  Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) event kicks off today with global satellite events going on around the world in Jakarta, Sydney, Nairobi and Sao Paolo.

RHoK is a joint effort founded by Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, NASA and The World Bank, dedicated to bringing software developers together to respond to challenges facing humanity in the area of natural disaster risk. We start with problem definitions created through consultations with NGOs, governments and experts in the field from around the world, then we invite hackers to a come together to organize and go to work putting their skills to use to solve those problems with software solutions that make a difference on the ground. At a RHoK hackathon, new technologies are born, existing platforms are built upon, and innovative new ideas attract attention and support. At the close of the hackathon, teams present the technologies they have developed and prizes are awarded.

Curious why doing this?

• Save the world: You have the skills to make a difference. Hacks developed at the last RHoK hackathon were used on the ground in Haiti and Chile following the devastating earthquakes there in early 2010. The world needs these solutions.
• Exposure: Got a new product, idea or technology to share with the hacker community? Put it to work at the hackathon.
• Assistance: Extend the function and applicability of your existing products or software through global crowdsourced development.
• Input: Get real-time feedback from Subject Matter Experts in software and disaster risk.
• Insight: Learn about what other companies and developers are doing in the same space.