- 18 Sep 2024
Hackathon: Driving Digital Media Innovations
Event Overview: Held from June 27th to June 29th, the DIP Hackathon brought together entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, specialists, and media professionals from across the MENA region. The three-day event aimed to develop innovative solutions to tackle disinformation, fake news, and hate speech, while enhancing media literacy.
Training and Mentorship: Participants received intensive training and personalised mentoring on topics such as digital media challenges, Figma introduction, Figma prototyping, ICT tools, and open-source solutions, as well as pitching techniques and storytelling This support helped them refine, conceptualise, and visualise their ideas effectively.
Winners: Out of nine innovative ideas presented, three stood out and were awarded a financial prize.
- Digifacts – Hayfa Tlayla, Tunisia: A platform using advanced technology to combat fake news by analysing multimedia content and identifying fake and altered media. It also provides reliable information about the sources and links to previous publications.
- Gherbal – Mahmoud Hrebat, Palestine: A platform filtering and categorising news based on user interests using AI to verify and organise news based on its accuracy and relevance.
- Zad Media – Mohammad Aghoulaiche, Algeria: A tool aimed at helping judges and legal assistants stay updated with media law changes by providing access to categorised media legal information from 1962 to the present.
Crowdsourcing Competition: Fostering Collaborative Solutions
Event Overview: The Crowdsourcing Competition, held from May 26th to June 12th, offered a three-week online training program for media professionals, entrepreneurs, and ICT experts. The program focused on ideation for digital media, ICT tools, and open-source technologies, business model development, as well as pitching and storytelling.
Training and Mentorship: Participants engaged in a training schedule delivered by regional experts, which equipped them with the skills needed to develop and pitch their digital media solutions effectively.
Winners: Nineteen participants pitched their ideas, with the following three emerging as winners:
- Righto – Mazen Mahmoud Tahhan, Jordan: A platform for reading verified news from multiple sources, using AI to verify the authenticity of media news. The system flags unreliable sources and confirms the accuracy of modified news.
- Seha AI – Aicha Ould Habib, Algeria: A platform combating fake news in the medical and health fields in Algeria using AI and machine learning to analyse and verify health-related content online.
- A Fact-checking company (Artistic Caravan, Youth of Peace) – Mohamed Amine Moussaoui, Algeria: A company utilising various digital media to create educational content aimed at raising awareness among children and youth about the dangers of misinformation, hate speech, bullying, and racism.
The DIP Hackathon and Crowdsourcing Competition successfully showcased the ingenuity and dedication of participants in developing solutions to critical digital media challenges in the MENA region. These events not only highlighted innovative ideas but also encouraged a collaborative spirit among media professionals, entrepreneurs, and ICT experts. The winning projects, with their focus on combating disinformation and promoting accurate information, represent significant steps toward creating a more resilient and informed digital society in the region.
Learn more about DIP: https://leadersinternational.org/projects/dip-digital-innovations-for-peace/
