Go For It: Alameda County 'Apps Challenge 2016'

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ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA - Alameda County will hold the fifth in its series of community hackathons on Saturday, February 27 and is urging everyone ‒ the civically active, the technologically gifted and those who simply want to get involved ‒ to participate.

The event, dubbed Alameda County Apps Challenge 2016, will involve participants working in teams to develop ideas for using technology to assist with efforts to fight poverty and eliminate hunger in Alameda County.

Alameda County Apps Challenge 2016 will be from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on be Saturday, February 27, at the Alameda County Conference Center, 125 12th Street, Suite 400, Oakland.

The event will be co-hosted by the offices of Alameda County Administrator Susan S. Muranishi and County Supervisor Wilma Chan. It is being produced and managed by Alameda County’s Information Technology Department.

The unique focus of this Apps Challenge is in keeping with a broad community initiative Chan is leading to fight poverty and eradicate hunger in the community. In 2014, to mark the 50th Anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,’’ Chan launched the “ALL IN ‒ Alameda County’’ Initiative that declared a “New War on Poverty’’ with the goal of eliminating hunger in the community by 2020.

Now, Chan is leveraging the success of the Alameda County’s Apps Challenge series – launched in 2012 to engage citizens, broaden understanding of public services and emphasize government transparency ‒ to bring added energy and creativity to the “ALL IN – Alameda County’’ cause.

Participants will have access to more than 200 data sets available through the Alameda County Data Sharing Initiative at http://data.acgov.org. A $2,000 Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry that best addresses the problems of poverty and hunger in Alameda County.

Prizes of $1,000 each will be given to two other entries: that which best uses Open Data made available by Alameda County; and for the best mobile and/or web application. The cost to participate in Alameda County Apps Challenge 2016 is $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Government employees may participate for free.

For more information about the Apps Challenge and to register for the event, please visit: http://code.acgov.org.