Friday, May 31, 2013

National Day of Civic Hacking - June 1-2, 2013

How You Can Participate This Weekend!
The National Day of Civic Hacking is upon us! We will see thousands of civic hackers come together following months of planning by hundreds of organizers, partners, government agencies, and communities around the country. So, how can you take part?
  1. Find an event near you! There are over 95 events happening around the country. The most meaningful way you can participate in National Day of Civic Hacking is to attend one! Each event is run independently by an organizer who has created something special with their community. Some cities even have multiple events - take a look through them and decide what one is most interesting to you!
     
  2. Choose a challenge you want to work on! There are dozens of national challenges available for anyone to work on. Your local event may also be focusing on a variety of local challenges that are highly relevant to your community.
     
  3. Submit your project! By telling us what you did, you also have the chance to be recognized by one of the partner organizations - or even invited to show off what you've done at an event at the White House! A project is whatever you are working on for National Day of Civic Hacking. That might be a software application, it might be a story about the new hacker space you are organizing, or it might be about how you convinced your city to open up a series of new data sets.
     
  4. Join the conversation on social media! share your photos with the Flickr Hack For Change group! Tell your story on Twitter and Tumblr. Chat with us on Facebook.
Still not sure how you can take part? Here are some answers to a few important common questions that might help:

I'm not a "hacker" because I don't know how to write code. How can I take part? You don't need to be a programmer to participate - you just need to be someone who wants to think creatively to solve the challenges we face every day! What else can you do? Take a look at this blog post by Massachusetts organizers that talks about some of the many roles that need to be played in hacking for change.

How can I participate if there is no event happening near me? It's not to late to start one! If you want to organize a public event, fill out this sign up form and we will get you set up with an event page ASAP. Another option you have is to gather some friends in your living room or a café for the weekend, pick a challenge, and start working on it.

I understand how my community benefits from this work, but what does participation mean for me? Participating in an event allows you to connect with other socially conscious do-gooders in your community. This strengthens communities, and empowers you as an individual. Join an event and join the movement of civic hacking!

We, the citizens, make the future. Participate in National Day of Civic Hacking and make it with us!


"Citizens Make the Future" by Institute For the Future

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