We are proud to announce that for our 2017 Hackathon Season, Major League Hacking will be partnering with Hack Harassment, an initiative to combat online harassment launched by Intel, Vox Media, Recode, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. Together we will be launching an Anti-Harassment hack category at all season member events and a grand prize for the most effective solution to combat online harassment.
Online harassment has become pervasive, with approximately 40 percent of all internet users reporting that they have experienced such treatment according to the Pew Research Center. Young people are disproportionately impacted, with 70 percent of those ages 18 to 24 reporting that they have experienced harassment online.
As a group of university and high school students, this problem hits close to home for the MLH hacker community. We care deeply about making hackathons and the greater hacker community a safe and welcoming space; with our league-wide Code of Conduct, our budget to support inclusivity-focused groups and events like NYCWiC and the Women’s International Leadership Conference, and our community values that all Member Events uphold we are continuously working to improve the hacker experience and make this community even more welcoming.
But this community has a unique ability to impact proactive solutions to online harassment by building software. That is why we’ve partnered with Hack Harassment, because we believe that student hackers can create amazing technological solutions to making the Internet a better place.
“The Internet is fundamental to everyday life, shaping how we communicate and express ourselves,” said Danielle Brown, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and VP, Human Resources, Intel Corporation. “To ensure that the Internet is a safe and inclusive space for everyone, we need to do more to combat online harassment. Hack Harassment is excited to partner with Major League Hacking to support this mission, tapping into their immense network of student hackers to not only fight online harassment in the technology community but to help develop solutions that make the Internet a better and safer place.”
At hackathons in this year’s season, starting this coming weekend at HackMTY, we will be recognizing Anti-Harassment Hacks with a brand new category and prize presented by Hack Harassment that rewards people for building solutions to combat online harassment with a special swag pack. Check out this hack to fight cyberbullying that won the Hack Harassment prize at HackPSU last season.
At the end of the season, the winning hack that is the most effective solution to combating online harassment will win a trip to Santa Clara to present their project to the Hack Harassment team for additional support. We truly believe in the power of hackathons to change the world, and are excited for how hackers address these endemic issues on the Internet.
Join us in signing Hack Harassment’s pledge to speak up against online harassment and support those experiencing it. We hope to see our hackers, organizers, and sponsors signing this pledge and building amazing solutions to this problem.
We can’t wait to see what you build and we hope that you will join us at an upcoming event!
A schedule of upcoming hackathons is available for North America at http://mlh.io/events and for Europe at http://mlh.io/eu.