HVTechFest: Technology Driven Economic Development

HVTechFest 2020 Youth Hackathon October 23-24th, 2020 was done fully online though we got 150 people in attendance including international participants.

Yup. We did it! Once again!

Let's admit it: the pandemic put the most of us into survival and freezing mode. Our goal was to create a Safe and Playful Environment for a Collaborative Problem Solving. And the magic appeared: we were able to turn on a Creators Mode, inspire with the potential of innovations.

We used our signature approach and orchestrated

• Young coders teaming up with professionals address real world situations of civic and/ or business importance
• Using high- and low-technology functions to solve the public problems
• Collaboration replicates on the job experience
• Prizes for the winners. Gifts for all participants.

Glad to report the Hackathon'2020 Outcomes as

1. Igniting Entrepreneurial Spirit
2. Empowering participants with Technology and Self-efficacy
3. Brains Elevated, Lives Elevated
4. Technology in action

How was it done?

The umbrella theme for the HVTechFest 2020 was “Social Distancing as a ‘New normal’ challenge.”
The Social Distancing’ that occurred in response to the pandemic as the "new normal" became a huge challenge in many aspects: We miss our friends, we can't freely travel, we got distracted with our remote learning and working. 

• Social distancing at school is hard for many kids having troubles with focus, sensory issues, social isolation.
• Ability to work and learn remote are limited by the dramatical Digital Divide revealed
• The lack of digital citizenship skills causes a lot of fraud and missed opportunities
• The unemployment rate has tripled since the shutdown. Skills in demand shifter to digital efficiency and technology advanced.
• The level of anxiety and depression in society is casuing emotional and mental health issues

It was time to transform fears of uncertainty into an exploration of opportunity and new ideas.

It was tremendously rewarding and inspiring to see so many gathered together on Friday, October 11th for the Conference portion of the Festival, to explore and rethink our tech education, tech workforce development and trends in hiring the lean startup way. The programming committee invested countless hours engaging and curating speakers one by one to reflect the industry trends, both global and local.  We are so proud of the 40+ speakers and 150+ attendees who participated in the Conference. Thank you all for your hunger and curiosity to learn from each other through the Conference tracks and sessions. You can see speakers notes using 2019 Schedule or see live streamed video here

Our first Hudson Valley Youth Hackathon on Saturday, October 12th teamed 100+ professionals working side by side with youth, and competing equally. We appreciate our partner, AT&T, who lobbied with vigor to have kids involved more than we initially envisioned – it was amazingly inspirational and a learning experience for all! We discovered that our high schoolers are way more tech savvy than previous generations. They are thoughtful, engaged and collaborative, responsible and capable. The startup bug bit them at the Hackathon – we can expect more tech entrepreneurs coming… Let’s cultivate this spirit!

We are excited to see that we are all aligned in our dream of making the Hudson Valley a better place to live and work, and leveraging technology as a practical tool for this rising tide!

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