Swedish Ambassador to SA Håkan Juholt will this weekend officially open the tech-non-profit organisation Empire Partner Foundation’s first-ever global coding festival, which is seeking scalable healthcare solutions.
This follows a recent partnership between Empire Partner Foundation and Sweden-based Hack for Earth Foundation recently entered a partnership to host the global hackathon.
The Illovo-based tech non-profit organisation announced the collaboration with the Hack for Earth Foundation to find scalable health solutions.
As many as 401 participants, 42 corporates, and 17 mentors from more than 20 countries will be part of the two-day hackathon on Saturday and Sunday (27 – 28 August 2022).
The Empire Foundation and Hack for Earth foundations say the hybrid (virtual and physical) event is open to developers who wish to design solutions for a better future. The physical event will be Illovo, Johannesburg.
The two foundations use hackathons to find real solutions to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals through citizen-driven innovations, encouraging them to address socio-economic issues with technology.
The Empire Partner Foundation has since 2016 been supporting young tech entrepreneurs seeking digital solutions to solve societal challenges and propel them to growth.
The upcoming hackathon is the 22nd to be hosted by the tech-non-profit organisation, which is growing its reach across Africa.
Mikhail Mariemuthu, senior manager at Empire Foundation said: “This is a huge honour for us to be hosting the ambassador at our global hackathon”.
Mariemuthu added: “This is an opportunity to show the world that South Africans and indeed Africans, in general, can collaborate with the rest of the world in using technology to solve the most pressing challenges of our time.
“We are extremely grateful to Hack for Earth Foundation for supporting and collaborating with Empire Partner Foundation on this important project that seeks to find healthcare solutions”.
Mariemuthu said participants have to answer important questions on healthcare.
These are the questions:
- How do we use tech to address the stigma of menstruation and period poverty in both developing and rural communities in South Africa?
- How can we improve healthcare system preparedness for future major incidents like the Covid-19 pandemic?
- How do we raise awareness about health in rural areas?
- How can a country’s health care system deliver medicine and healthcare in a locally affordable context, to provide healthcare for more people?
Hack for Earth’s secretary general Ann Molin will be in SA this week and will grace the event together with the ambassador.
“Connecting minds all over the world to create the future we need, is imperative,” said Molin.
“To create citizen-driven innovation, inviting all who want to contribute to solving the challenges we face today, starts with building relationships with like-minded organisations – like Empire Partner Foundation.
“Moving into COP27 in Egypt this year, and COP28 in UAE next year, we see Empire as a key partner organisation for connecting with the entire African continent.”
