ACTION in the spotlight

Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon

 

The Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon is a global initiative promoting the involvement of young people in creating new sustainable transport solutions. By combining creative young minds and the power of current information and communications technologies (ICT) in collaborative environments, the aim of the hackathon series is to advance the transport sector towards sustainability.

Teams from across the world competed in the first edition of the hackathon series, which took place in 2017 in Montreal. From Kampala, to Cape Town, to Santiago, to Skopje, over 37 nationalities were represented. Hackathons generally last several days and entail groups of skilled people meeting to collaborate on software programming and hardware prototyping in order to solve specific issues in a cooperative environment. The products developed during hackathons have often led to startup projects and triggered further innovations. Check out a video featuring the winnders of the first edition of the Y4PT hackathon below:

Following the success of the first edition, the Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation, with the support of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) is promoting the organisation of local transport hackathons around the world during the "second season" of the series in 2017-2018. Winners from the local transport hackathons will join other Emirates-based hackers at the 2nd Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon in 2018 in Dubai.

Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) is an international non-governmental youth organisation that promotes the active participation of young people in advocating sustainable mobility.  Y4PT's story started in Helsinki in 2006, where a visionary group from the UITP decided to bring a fresh perspective to the world of transport by involving young people and listening to their experiences and perspectives on public transport.

Everyone is invited to get on board: stakeholders such as universities, youth groups, ICT companies, transport operators, authorities, start-up mentors, innovation centers and hackers are welcomed to collaborate with Y4PT and to be part of the next edition of the world’s first ever global transport hackathon. For more information, visit the project website here.

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