Announcement: First Hackathon "Bitalon“
Skopje, March 7th, 2018
The Ministry of Information Society and Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel will organize the first hackathon "Bitalon" that will officially begin on March 10th (Saturday) at 18:00 o'clock in the Youth Cultural Center in Bitola.
The event will oficially be opened by the Minister of Information Society and Administration, Damjan Manchevski and the Israeli Ambassador Dan Oryan.
The aim of this event is to tell the story on the old Jewish community in the Balkans through the Jewish cemetery "Beit hahaim" in Bitola.
"Bitalon“ is an opportunity to participate in development of the digital experience in the “Park of the Living in Bitola”, where the story of the Jewish community played a major role in the past and will play a major role in the future.
The Hackathon will include teams of young Macedonian IT specialists, innovators and creators that will work on new solutions by means of 48-hour IT marathon.
Mentors and judges will include notable experts from Israel and Macedonia, working in the field of information technology, Jewish history and culture, archaeology, media, technology park leads, investors and university professors, and leaders of the project intended to revitalize the Jewish past in Bitola and to maintain the Memorial Park of the Living at the Jewish Cemetery in Bitola.
Competition participants will use rare documents, photographs and other resources that exist as silent witnessess of the Jewish community in Bitola, collected by various research institutions and organizations, universities, museums, Ladino centers and private collections from the entire world.
More teams will participate in the competition, and the three winning teams will be invited on a tour of Israel, wherein they will have the chance to visit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, meet leading companies, accelerator and leaders, and take a glimpse of Israel's cultural heritage.
Bitalon winning teams will be promoted at a separated event to be held on March 12th in Skopje, under the auspices of the Ministry of Information Society and Administration.
Ministry of Information Society and Administration
