The White House Unveils National Day Of Civic Hacking

The White House has announced that this summer it will launch the National Day of Civic Hacking, a nationwide event where individuals can stretch their creative fingers using publicly released data to create "solutions for problems that affect Americans." The event will take place on June 1 and 2, and will be a collaborative effort amongst anyone who wants to participate.

The event is a collective effort between government agencies and companies/organization, which will host various challenges for the participants to undertake. According to the announcement, National Day of Civic Hacking is a take-off of Super Happy Block Party by Innovation Endeavors, and is happening in conjunction with Code for America's Brigade and Random Hacks of Kindness.

The event is said to take place both online and in person, depending on the event the participants take part in. It is open to anyone, no hacking skills necessary, and will target challenges that range from a local neighborhood to the nation as a whole. Some of the agencies that will be announcing challenges include NASA and the Department of Labor.

Several cities already have events planned, with the list sure to grow over the coming months leading up to the event. Locations that are already set to participate include Seattle, Denver, Detroit, Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and San Diego, among others. Participants can also plan their own event.

Says the event's website, "The event will leverage the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of those outside federal, state and local government to drive meaningful, technology-based solutions for federal, state and local government. It demonstrates what's possible when we all work together to strengthen our society and our lives."

Those interested in participating can get more info at the event's official website, HackforChange.org.

[via White House]