Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday called on the international hacktivist community to help amplify the voice of Taiwanese to promote the nation’s democratic development and policy goals.
Taiwan hopes that through Taiwan Presidential Hackathon, it can share the spirit of co-creation with its international friends, Chen said in a speech at the award ceremony for the second annual hackathon at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.
This is in line with the purpose of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) recent trip to the Caribbean, which was to share with the world Taiwan’s advancements in the areas of democracy and technology, and its resolve to help realize the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the vice president said.
Photo: CNA
Hacktivists use technology to promote political agendas or social change, seeking solutions to problems through open data and group efforts, Chen said.
That is an approach that Taiwan has already adopted in its new concept of governance, which involves public participation in policymaking, he said.
Hacktivists worldwide can therefore help give voice to the sentiments of Taiwanese, which in turn would allow the government to perform better and provide better services, he added.
The second annual hackathon, under the theme “Enabling Sustainable Infrastructure,” opened in March, with 23 teams from 15 nations in the competition.
This year’s winners are Team Mentadak from Malaysia and Team CoST from Honduras.
Mentadak proposed solutions to eliminate graft and corruption in the government procurement process, while CoST applied open data to optimize the allocation of national resources.
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