50 young people take part in Hackathon to present solutions to preserve planet

The United Nations Office in Tunis, on Saturday, launched a two-day Hackathon to develop new technologies and present solutions and ideas to preserve the planet, member in the Office of Resident Coordinator Elhem Birini told TAP.

The organisation of this Hackathon, which brings together about 50 young Tunisians, is part of the United Nations agenda for the implementation of the sustainable development programme and the achievement of its objectives in 2030.

She pointed out that this competition is one of a series of similar ones that will be held in other cities in the country not yet identified but will be chosen to cover the central and southern regions of Tunisia.
The top 5 teams will be awarded prizes worth 1,000 dinars and will receive technical support from the United Nations throughout 2020 as well as a training session on coding techniques.

Birini pointed to the possibility of developing an innovative idea among those which will be presented by young people at the Hackathon and turning them into a project within the framework of the United Nations programme.

The selection of candidates over 18 years of age is based on knowledge of environmental issues, attention to sustainable development, the need to preserve the environment and the use of modern technologies.

Candidate Youssef Kaabi, a student at the National Institute of Applied Science and Technology (INSAT) confirmed his interest in this type of event which allows young people to turn their ideas into reality, participate in several environmental competitions and win prizes.

He explained that with the launch of the Hackathon, participants will be able to identify the environmental idea or topic to be developed within the next 24 hours while specifying that his idea is how to select recyclable materials and classify them as organic and non-organic materials using artificial intelligence.

The technology he plans to develop will identify the ability to recycle certain materials, especially those that are 100% recyclable,” he said, adding that with the accumulation of waste in Tunisia, only 20 and 30% of materials (plastic bottles) can be recycled while the rest will be disposed of.

TunisianMonitorOnline (TAP)

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