Team Salom from Agusan del Norte won this year’s Haquathon 2.0, a regional hackathon for tech-based solutions aimed at saving the seas.
Save Philippine Seas (SPS) and the US Embassy in the Philippines said in a news release that Team Salom bested other teams of innovators from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The participants designed technological responses to marine environmental challenges, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; sustainable consumption and production; climate change; and citizen engagement.
Haquathon 2.0 winners and runners-up (five teams) received seed funding grants of up to P100,000 ($2,000) to implement their solutions.
Between March and June this year, 15 teams joined the workshop series, and spoke with experts from the Asean region on innovative approaches to sustainable development. They also discussed regional cooperation on environmental protection.
“The issues of our ocean are complex, and we can’t solve them without innovation and technology. All the groups that participated in Haquathon 2.0 show us that crisis inspires creativity and ingenuity,” said SPS Executive Director Anna Oposa.
Team Salom member Alexis Sebote said, “With the support of SPS and the US Embassy, we will realize our vision to build a generation of responsible citizens who have the heart for marine life.”
The US Embassy in the Philippines is committed to supporting environmental sustainability in the Asean region.
“As we mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and the Philippines this year, we are also looking ahead to the next 75 years of the relationship and collaborating with partners like SPS to develop a sustainable, healthy environment,” US Embassy Public Engagement Officer Pauline Anderson said.
Haquathon 2.0 teams will reconvene in 2022 with updates on their projects.