VHacks - Hackathon at the Vatican to overcome social barriers and embrace common values

Computer enthusiasts were at the Vatican from March 8 to 11 to participate in the VHacks - Hackathon at the Vatican.

 

The 120 participants from all religious and cultural backgrounds, from 57 universities and five continents, were chosen “based on academic accomplishments, innovative thinking, and alignment with our mission statement,” organizers said. The Secretariat for Communication of the Holy See, and the OPTIC Foundation, chaired by Father Eric Salobir, organized the event.

 

 

The competition took place over 36 hours and focused on problems of social inclusion, interfaith dialogue, and the migrant and refugee crisis.

 

Conflicts, migrations, scarcity of resources caused by climate change were the main threats to humanity that the participants were called to fight. Connect4Climate joined the friendly competition, designed to set innovators to work in thinking of ways to solve social problems, through proposals and useful applications for the mission of the Church.

 

 

The Church has always embraced innovation - after the Digital Revolution, the Holy See is starting to adopt new technologies to help the humankind.