02 Aug Saudi holds region’s largest hackathon
The largest hackathon competition in the Middle East, organised by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, was launched in Jeddah on Tuesday July 31, 2018, under the name of “Hackathon of Hajj”.
The three-day event, with the participation of thousands of developers from both sexes from 51 countries, is part of Saudi Arabia’s continuous efforts every year to serve the pilgrims and take advantage of the young talents of technology, which highlights the participation of programmers in the exploration and development techniques of Hajj seasons.
This event is part of the Kingdom’s commitment to stimulating innovation and reaching regional and global leadership in the field of technology; it is in the interest of supporting young people and providing them with diverse opportunities and achieving the objectives of the 2030 Vision.
Saud bin Abdullah Al-Qahtani, advisor at the Royal Court and chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, thanked Saudi leaders for presenting unlimited support for young people and their keen interest in supporting innovators and the transfer of knowledge.
He said that the Kingdom’s hosting of the largest hackathon in the history of the region through the competition “”Hackathon of Hajj” aims to devise technical solutions that contribute to enriching and improving the experience of pilgrims, and that the Kingdom has become one of the main supporting countries in order to be a gateway to technology in the region, as it has a fundamental role in every aspect of the vision of 2030.
In her speech at the opening ceremony, Nouf Al Rakan, CEO of Saudi Cyber Security Federation, said that under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the Kingdom is moving to a new era to serve the greatest pillar of Islam starting from an ambitious vision of the Kingdom 2030.