FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hackathon for Wildlife Generates Ten Innovative Concepts for
Wildlife Conservation
After 36 hours of brainstorming, designing and coding, this Sunday night 10 teams
presented concepts that harness the power of the latest technology to save our oldest
heritage.
CHICAGO, November 17, 2015 – From Saturday, November 14 through Sunday, November
15, more than 60 designers, technologists, entrepreneurs, conservationists and wildlife
enthusiasts designed up a storm in the Solstice headquarters in Chicago during the first
Hackathon for Wildlife, a community event to utilize technology for wildlife conservation.
Participants came in from places as far as Nairobi, Seattle, Boston and Washington, and
committed their weekend to the cause.
Cecil The Lion Called for Action
“This summer, the world expressed outrage over the death of Cecil the Lion,” says Gautam
Shah, founder of Internet Of Elephants and mastermind behind the hackathon. “Six hundred
lions a year are shot through government-issued licenses because it is one of the only ways
conservation can fund itself.”
“Conservation is a complex and very costly activity,” adds Shah. “Given that wildlife
populations are on the brink of extinction and conservation organizations struggle to make a
dent with tiny budgets, we need to develop sustainable answers that will change the game.”
To kickstart a new way of thinking, Shah initiated the hackathon for wildlife.
The Hackathon
Subject matter experts were on site to provide inspirational presentations and brainstorm with
the teams. The founder of Savannah Tracking, Henrik Rasmussen, flew in from Kenya to
demonstrate the collars he produces to track elephants: giant belts with shockproof sensors
the size of a brick. “You can imagine with all the rolling in the dirt, trampling through forests
and the occasional bull fight, these devices have to be built like a bunker,” explains
Rasmussen.
As ideas started flying, food was passed around, and sofas were set up for catnaps for the
die-hard participants who worked through the night. When the dust settled, 10 great concepts
emerged.
Winning concepts
Ten teams presented their concepts, and hackathon participants and subject matter experts
judged each team. The teams that came out on top were:
Best Overall: Team 24 Animals with an app to show people their commonalities with
animals.
Best Use of Technology: Team VultuRe with a plan to revolutionize the way
children learn by incorporating virtual reality
Best Impact to Conservation: Team Awe with their “Habitap” app that allows users
to follow animals in real time
Best Prototype: Team Finding Tim with an interactive game to give people an
opportunity to experience life as an animal.
In the true spirit of a hackathon, participation has its own reward. “I felt invigorated by the
energy of the hackathon and am proud of the ideas we came up with in just 36 hours,” says
Scott Goodwin of Team Wildlife Tracker. “Now I am thinking about how we can take these
concepts to the next level and engage more people in wildlife conservation.”
What’s next
“As a community that came together for just 36 hours, we’ve seen some incredible
outcomes,” says Shah. “The results are free for everyone and anyone to take further.”
“The hackathon really shows that people love to be involved in creating solutions and what
can be achieved when you put multi-disciplinary talent together in a room,” says Solstice
Founder and CEO, J Schwan. “I am excited by the outcomes of the hackathon and look
forward to seeing how the projects come to life to create positive change for wildlife.”
------NOT FOR PUBLICATION
Download the press kit online at
www.internetofelephants.com/press
If you use the wildlife photography supplied by IOE, listing the photo credit “copyright Gautam
Shah” is mandatory.
The event was tracked on Twitter through the hashtag #HackForWildlife
More information about the event, such as the agenda, FAQ’s:
http://internetofelephants.com/events
Get in touch directly with the event organizers for more information:
Internet of Elephants
Gautam Shah
Kenya +254 715 277 453
US +1 708 441 9795 (active from Nov. 10th to 19th)
[email protected]
www.internetofelephants.com
Twitter: @ioelephants.com
Solstice Mobile
Megan Gilmore
Phone: 312-465-5452
Email: [email protected]
www.solstice-mobile.com