AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)
While the digital world is often seen as a strain on family ties, an upcoming Abu Dhabi hackathon is about to show it can also provide the solutions.
"Technology and artificial intelligence should serve as enablers rather than replacements for human connection," Salem AlShamsi, Executive Director of Social Incubation and Contracting at the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma'an, told Aletihad.
Ma'an's Athar+, Abu Dhabi's first purpose-driven social impact hub, recently launched the second edition of HACK4IMPACT. Running from June 16 to 18, this year's hackathon challenges participants to develop community-driven solutions to family-related social challenges - from financial pressures and caregiving responsibilities to maintaining strong connections in a fast-paced world.
Families today require innovative support systems that can help them navigate evolving socio-economic realities, and HACK4IMPACT focuses on three priority areas: financial wellbeing for parents, supporting families with ageing parents, and building stronger family foundations.
"When thoughtfully designed, digital tools can support families to access support services, improve communication, manage caregiving responsibilities, strengthen financial planning, and create opportunities for meaningful engagement," AlShamsi said.
"The goal is to use technology to enhance family well-being while preserving the trust, emotional depth, and authenticity of family relationships."
Over three days, ideas and prototypes will be brainstormed and refined into workable concepts that can improve quality of life, AlShamsi explained.
"By focusing on existing family issues, teams will be expected to develop solutions that can continue to evolve beyond the event through mentorship, partnerships, and future growth opportunities that have genuine social impact on the Abu Dhabi community."
Projects will be evaluated across five key criteria: problem relevance; innovation; feasibility; scalability; and teamwork, communication and presentation. To enable the most promising ideas to get past the concept stage, the judging framework aims to ensure that inventiveness is matched by potential for real-world application, he said.
AlShamsi emphasised that the hackathon marks "the beginning of a longer journey", describing it as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration.
Promising teams will have the opportunity to continue developing their ideas through Athar+'s incubation ecosystem, with access to relevant stakeholders, partners, and support networks. "Our focus is on encouraging participants to explore pathways for growth and further refinement of solutions that demonstrate strong potential for social impact," he said.
Registration for the hackathon is still open and closes on June 10.