Zoohackathon aims to bring technological innovation to the fight to combat wildlife trafficking. The Zoohackathon event calls on coders and wildlife protectors from all around the world to come together to create new applications and tools for use on mobile phones and other devices, which can help reduce demand for illegal wildife products and bring an end to the scourge of wildlife trafficking, one of the largest transnational crimes in the world.

Eligibility

All participants must RSVP for their host city through each host city’s respective web site of www.zoohackathon.com.

Zoohackathon reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate any disputes. If you are entering as part of a company or on behalf of your employer, these rules are binding on you individually, and/or your employer. If you are acting within the scope of your employment, as an employee, contractor, or agent of another party, you warrant that such party has full knowledge of your actions and has consented thereto, including your potential receipt of a prize. You further warrant that your actions do not violate your employer’s or company’s policies and procedures.

Only works created between the start time and end time of each entrant’s selected host city Zoohackathon event are eligible for prizes.

Requirements

Participants planning to attend an in-person event will RSVP for their city’s event following the instructions on www.zoohackathon.com. All event attendees should also register on Zoohackathon.devpost.com to be able to submit their presentation to the Devpost global Zoohackathon gallery at the end of the event. Presentations should be submitted as soon as possible once the event is over and no later than Monday, October 10, 2016 at 11:59pm PST.

Each host site winning individual or team, identified by the panel of judges on Sunday, October 9 (or whenever the individual host site's event officially ends), is required to upload his/her/their Zoohackathon presentation online as soon as possible in order to be eligible for the global competition. Presentations must be uploaded on Devpost by no later than Tuesday, October 10, 2016 at 11:59pm PST. Host sites should encourage participants to submit their presentations before leaving the event. Participating individuals and teams that do not win are also highly encouraged to upload their product presentation on Devpost as other prizes or development opportunities may be considered after the close of the Zoohackathon. 

It is the responsibility of each host site to collect the name and contact information for every participant. Teams may be composed of 2-10 individuals, unless otherwise specified by the local host site.

Presentation Guidelines

All submissions must include a demonstration (e.g. PowerPoint) or other visual digital presentation software of the app/or solution. Presentations should be approximately five minutes in length. Presentations should include:

  • Problem statement your technological product seeks to address
  • Introduction to your product
  • How it works
  • What resources are needed for the implementation of the product
  • Ways in which it can be implemented
  • A real life situation your product will address and the impact of that change on the community/city/country

Additional requirements:

  • Submissions must be the original work of the entrant(s);
  • Submissions must not contain any advertisement or solicitation;
  • Submissions must not contain anything that is or may be construed as: (i) threatening, harassing, degrading or hateful; (ii) defamatory; (iii) fraudulent or tortious; (iv) obscene, indecent or otherwise objectionable; or (v) protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express prior consent of the owner of such right;
  • Submissions must not contain any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability or that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; and
  • Submissions must otherwise comply in all respects with these Rules and the Policies.

Any and all works created during the Zoohackathon are developed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License legal code.

Zoohackathon and its representatives will have no responsibility for, and will have the right to refuse at its sole and absolute discretion, any entries that have been altered, tampered with, misdirected, incomplete, non-conforming, corrupt, lost, late, or ineligible, whether due to Internet or e-mail server failure or otherwise. Proof of transmission of a submission shall not constitute proof of receipt. It is each entrant’s responsibility to keep Zoohackathon and its representatives informed of any changes to entrant’s contact or other information during the Zoohackathon. The U.S. Government reserves the right to develop any of the applications that are created through the contest Zoohackathon. By agreeing to participate in this event and signing these rules, the contestants who have created the open source application(s) waive any future claims against the Government for compensation. 

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$50,000 in prizes

Mentorship and marketing for top submissions (2)

Thanks for corporate and conservation partners, Zoohackathon will help those selected from among the top submissions to further develop and market their products. Prize covers costs associated with travel and attendance for meetings, which may include mentoring or incubation sessions, as needed, as well as marketing or other assistance.

Local prizes (5)

Cash and other prizes will be awarded at local host sites. Prizes vary by site and will be announced directly through host site announcements.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

The start and end times for your local Zoohackathon will be determined by the individual host cities. All entrants must be registered and have an RSVP with a host city through www.zoohackathon.com. The RSVP page for each host site will be updated periodically and host site organizers will reach out to registrants with event details closer to the event.

It is highly recommended that each entrant also register with Devpost at Zoohackathon.devpost.com. This gives you full access to all of the problem statements by giving each entrant the chance to ask questions regarding any of the problem statements. The more you know about a problem or challenge the more likely you’ll build a better solution.

Global Prizes

Once each host site finalist team uploads their presentations to Devpost, they will be automatically entered into the global competition. The global winning team will be announced in November and may receive a cash prize. In addition, top creations will be further independently developed towards market release through the sponsorship and guidance of the WildCare Institute of the Saint Louis Zoo. Prizes will be determined by a panel of wildlife experts and technologists. 

Publicity

All entrants of the Zoohackathon agree to use of his or her name and/or likeness and the submissions for promotional purposes by Zoohackathon, Zoohackathon representatives, and their agencies without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

Judges

Zoohackathon Event Team

Zoohackathon Event Team

Judging Criteria

  • Quality of Idea/Innovation
  • Impact
  • Interface

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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