• H2020
• Excellent Science

Peacehack takes tackling hate speech as its 2016 theme as it attempts to utilise technology to eradicate online abuse.

An initiative co-ordinated by charity International Alert, Peacehack unites technologists, designers, developers and peacebuilding experts for conflict solutions and peace building activities.

Dan Marsh, International Alert’s Head of Technology, said: “Peacehacks are a way for people who are interested in technology to come together and find solutions that can make a real difference. For this year’s hacks, we’ll be exploring creative ways to tackle hate speech – a challenge facing both the UK and other countries around the world.”

The event will take place as part of the annual Talking Peace Festival with an evening presentation on 30 September, continuing through to 2 October at Google Campus in Tech City, London.

This year’s event will seek ways of responding to and dealing with hate speech, focusing on Islamophobia. The goal is to use technology to tackle online hate speech and eradicate discrimination at local and national levels.

The London event forms part of an international series running from August to December 2016 with other events taking place in The Hague, Netherlands; Zurich, Switzerland; Athens, Greece; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Manila, Philippines, amongst others.

Participants will have the opportunity to submit their innovative ideas to a judging panel, which will include award-winning computer scientist and entrepreneur Sue Black.

Last year’s winning team have since launched a prototype of their idea, Safegees, which is a mobile and web app that allows refugees to locate people in their contact network. The app also provides ‘points of interest’ for refugees, sourced by approved NGOs, such as safe spots, camps, Wi-Fi sources, and more.

To find out more about the Talking Peace Festival, click here.

To find out more about Peacehack, click here.