Water Hackathon to be held in Bangalore, October 21st - 23rd 2011

Water Hackathon is being organized by the Water Anchor, the Water & Sanitation Program of the World Bank, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and the India Water Portal.The Water Anchor and the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank are planning a Global Water Hackathon event to develop prototypes in mobile applications to help address issues in the water and sanitation sector. Ten countries will play host to an intensive marathon of brainstorming and programming, drawing together the talent and initiative of software developers to find innovative solutions to challenges facing the water and sanitation sector from October 21st - 23rd, 2011.

Water Hackathon is a hackathon dedicated to solving water and sanitation problems facing developing countries, such as:

• Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation
• Flooding and drought (i.e., climate change issues)
• Environmental pollution

In India, the Water and Sanitation Program along with partners, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) and India Water Portal (IWP) is hosting the event in Bangalore, Karnataka from Oct 21st - 23rd, 2011. The event is also being supported by Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, Hewlett Packard, Broadvision Group of India, NJS Engineers India and OnMobile.

The Water Hackathon Bangalore will be kicked off with a dinner party on Friday the 21st of October at the Ista Hotel, Bangalore which will include presentations by experts in the water sector and the IT sector. Teams of "ethical hackers" will identify the problems in the water sector they want to address using the mobile technology of their choice. The hackathon will then begin at 08:00 am on Saturday 22nd of October at the Electronic City Campus of the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT B). The teams will work or “hack” through the night of Saturday and present their solutions to an eminent jury from civil society organizations and the private and public sectors on the afternoon of Sunday the 23rd of October 2011. Winners will receive exciting prizes and an opportunity to develop their solution into a full-fledged application.

For more information on the event please log on towww.waterhackathon.org