Sydney's tech community and startups have joined forces to try to make settlement in Australia easier, in an "unprecedented" show of support for refugees.
The Techfugees hackathon, hosted by Liverpool Council at the city library, saw around 150 founders, entrepreneurs, developers and investors work with NGOs and refugees to develop a range of ideas and startups to help with this issue.
The event was organized by Anne-Marie Elias, Annie Parker of Muru-D and Nicole Williamson of LanzaTech and was sponsored by Settlement Services International and STARTTS.
It was a “magical” and very powerful weekend, Elias tells StartupSmart. “The generosity of these people is just mind-boggling and unprecedented – it’s not a second choice for anyone,” she says.
“The magic is connecting the technology and startup community with the people affected by this issue.”
“By planting a seed in the community, the local council and NGOs can help refugees in a way that is better than waiting for the government to regulate this issue.”
The weekend began with refugees describing the various problems they face in their attempt to settle in Australia and then, they formed teams to address these issues with high-tech solutions. The refugees were inspired and collaborated with each team.
The winning idea from the hackathon was Goalify, an online platform to help refugees and caseworkers set goals for what they want to achieve and then connect them with the resources and information available to achieve that goal. The platform even includes sending reminders!
The team behind the idea will now receive A$10,000 (US $7,227) to develop the idea to launch and draw inspiration from Pollenizer and Expert360.
Other ideas developed to connect people with refugees in the community were through food, document translation services and discussions, a social network for learning English, and an app to organise local businesses and services for refugees – an idea already supported by the Mayor of Liverpool, Ned Mannoun, and set to launch in the region soon.
Judging by the success of Techfugees, Elias wants to create a national movement for the use of technology and startup skills once and for all.
