Amsterdam 2013. Photo courtesy Sebastiaan Burg
In order to respond to growing interest into the area of digital innovation as a catalyst for youth action against corruption, in 2021 the Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment (GRACE) initiative of UNODC launched the "Coding4Integrity" youth anti-corruption hackathon series, which aims to seize the energy and potential of youth to innovate and develop technological solutions for corruption-related problems that affect their communities.
In the margins of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), UNODC is joining forces with the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA) of the State of Qatar, and Microsoft, to organize the Coding4Integrity Arab Youth Anti-Corruption Hackathon!
In addition to over $82,000 (300,000 Qatari Riyal) in cash prizes, a total of $75,000 in Knowledge Token® prizes and awards will be distributed to hackathon participants:
Every hackathon participant will receive up to $350 in Knowledge Token® intellectual currency, totaling $35,000 in participation awards.
The Top 1 voted solution built on the Internet Computer (IC) for each of the 6 hackathon challenges will receive $5,000 in professional developer grants*, issued by the DFINITY Foundation in collaboration with the Knowledge Foundation.
An additional $10,000 in developer grant prizes, consisting of two separate $5,000 developer grants, will be awarded to one of the six grant winners (for a combined total of $15,000 in developer grants for that team). The bonus $10,000 developer grant will be awarded to the team that submits the most innovative, creative and/or unique solution built on the Internet Computer.
Knowledge Token® (Knowken®) is designed to fundamentally transform the way in which learners, educators, and educational content creators acquire, distribute and generate knowledge.
As an incentive and participation token that is awarded to learners in exchange for intellectual achievements, while privately and securely recording corresponding academic progress, Knowledge Tokens are issued in amounts that correspond to the units or amounts of knowledge, skills and/or credits that learners earn.
First introduced at IMMERSIVE ITALY 2017 in collaboration with INDIRE, the Italian Ministry of Education's oldest and most highly regarded educational research organization and the benchmark for educational research in Italy, Knowledge Tokens can be considered to be intellectual currency and, as such, may be used to pay for goods and services such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, games, textbooks, tuition and more.
The Switzerland-based Knowledge Foundation was recently established as the educational organization responsible for the design, development, deployment and ongoing maintenance of the global Knowledge Token® system and related open international standards for blockchain technology in the field of education.
Grants are wholly separate from the Hackathon and are subject to terms of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. Grant awards are not automatic or immediately guaranteed. Hackathon winners become eligible for participation in the DFINITY Developer Grant Program and entitlement to the full grant award amount is subject to meeting specified future milestones and satisfying all terms and conditions of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. In the event that a participant wins a prize that offers them eligibility for a developer grant from the Foundation and the participant will be subject to the DFINITY DEVELOPER GRANT PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Titles and organizations at time of speaking
Founding Director of the Immersive Education Initiative (iED) and Boston College faculty
Asst. Director General, United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization
Director, Office of Educational Tech, U.S. Dept. of Education & Immersive Education advisor
Chief Ranger, U.S. Dept. of the Interior National Park Service (NPS) and Immersive Education club advisor
MIT Media Lab Associate Director and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. of Media Arts & Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Education Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Director of University College Oxford Blockchain Research Centre
Director of New Media & Technology, Smithsonian and Immersive Education Initiative Arts and Culture co-chair
Co-creator and co-director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab and Media Lab Asia
President, Federation of USA Scientists & Immersive Education advisor
Lead Researcher, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Learning Technologies
Professor of Learning Research and Director of MIT Okawa Center & Lifelong Kindergarten group
Faculty, Stanford University and Co-Chair of the Immersive Education Initiative Open File Formats TWG
Stereoscopic Supervisor, Disney Animation Studios and Academy Award®-winning film "Frozen"
Senior Principal SRE/SWE (Site Reliability Engineer and Software Engineer), Google
Futurist, Intel Corp. and professor at University of Washington & California College
