The women were awarded the Dhs1 million prize…
A team of four young Saudi women has come out on top at the world’s largest hackathon.
Almost 3,000 developers from around the world gathered in Jeddah to attend the first ever Hajj Hackathon, which aimed to find high-tech solutions to improve the experience for those taking part in the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
The first prize of one million riyals was awarded to the Saudi team, who developed a translation app that would help pilgrims translate signboards into any language without needing an internet connection.
ALSO READ:
Saudi women can now train to become air traffic controllers
A Saudi flight school is opening its doors to women for the first time
An all-female team of developers from Saudi Arabia have won the Hajj Hackathon contest for developing a translation app called Torjaman. They won 1m riyals. Thousands of participants from 50 countries competed to develop technological solutions to make Hajj easier for pilgrims. pic.twitter.com/cdcIMWem6O
— Noor Muhammad (@noortella) August 3, 2018
One member of the winning team, Samaher Al Houthali, told the crowd: “The team’s feeling is indescribable. We are very happy. It’s all thanks to God and then to the team’s cooperation.”
The event was hosted by the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones. Its founder, Saud Al-Qahtani, said on Twitter the women’s win was “an indication of the continuing success and excellence in the process of empowering Saudi women,” according to a Khaleej Times translation.
The three-day event, which concluded on Friday, attracted software developers and innovators from more than 100 countries, Saudi Gazette reported. With a total of 2,950 participants, the hackathon broke the Guinness World Record for the most participants in a software development event.
The aim of the event was to create a platform to further cultivate Saudi tech talent, in line with Vision 2030.
Image: Twitter
