Kingdom's Hajj Hackathon Breaks World Record

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programing and Drones (SAFCSP) hosted a Hajj Hackathon in Jeddah on August 1st-3rd.  The Hackathon rallied global and local technology experts, including Saudi women and youth, to pitch tech innovations on enhancing the Hajj experience.  Technology legends Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., and Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, also joined the thousands of tech acolytes on Tuesday night at the official opening ceremony of the Hajj Hackathon in the Kingdom.  The competition focused on areas of crowd management, food, health, finance, traffic control, travel, housing, communications, and waste management to serve the millions of pilgrims who come to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the sacred ritual of Hajj.  This event was the largest tech competition ever staged in the Middle East, with nearly 3000 developers in attendance.  This milestone resulted in officially breaking the Guinness Book of World Record for the most simultaneous participants in a software development jam, previously held by India since 2012.  In line with Vision 2030 aims, the event's objective was to create a platform to further cultivate Saudi tech talent.  SAFCSP established monetary prizes in support of the top three finalists for their product development and marketing. 

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SOURCE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office