• Thematic areas of focus:
  • Local Economy
  • City Planning
  • Urban Basic Services
  • Local Governance
• Hackday partners: Ericsson, Strathmore University and UN-Habitat

Hackday Breakdown

• A hackday is an event modelled after a hackathon, whereby a large number of young people gather to engage in collaborative computer programming in order to solve societal challenges using ICT innovations.
• This hackday will bring together Kenyan youth passionate about technology, social change and cities with various skills sets from urban planning, project management, entrepreneurship, marketing, graphic design.
• The hackday’s objective is to bring together youth and the local governance (under the devolved system) through ICTs to promote dialogue and sustainable cities.
• The hackers will be supported by mentors with various support skills such User Experience, Product and Business Strategy, etc; and county government representatives from Kiambu County to guide them as they develop the solutions.
• The youth will hack away at challenge statements from a local county in the four thematic areas: local economy, city planning, urban basic services and local governance.
• The outcome of the hackday will be selection of the best solution through a judging panel composed of experts from UN-Habitat, Strathmore University, Ericsson and prolific entrepreneurs. This willing solution will incubated at @iLabAfrica for the rest of the year towards developing it to a prototype that can be tested at the county level to improve their processes.
• The hackday is part of a larger project dubbed the Urban Innovation Marketplace that seeks to improve service delivery by connecting Kenyan youth with the devolved county governments through technological innovation.

This project seeks to bridge the gap between the tech savvy urban youth and county governments grappling with devolution and decentralization. It seeks to connect young voices, often marginalized and from informal settlements, with governance and meaningful participation, using ICT as a tool.