The European Commission, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies (UAFIC) and the European Digital Finance Association (EDFA), has forged a new pan-European Hackathon in a welcomed effort to support the war-torn region of Ukraine.
Coding Challenge for Ukraine is an initiative designed to mobilise experts, programmers and startups to develop technological solutions to help refugees, migrants, and the recovery of Ukraine’s economy.
An award ceremony was held by the European Commission in Brussels on 29 June 2022 to award a project to develop technological solutions that will help Ukrainians.
The ceremony was attended by Mairead McGuinness, European commissioner for financial stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union; Eva Kaili, VP European parliament; Oleksii Shaban, deputy governor of the National Bank of Ukraine and Kostiantyn Koshelenko, deputy minister of social policy of Ukraine for digital development, digital transformation and Digitalisation.
About 30 teams from various European countries participated in the hackathon, from which just six finalist teams were selected. The finalists brought to the table the best IT solutions that’ll contribute to the rebuilding of Ukraine.
The six teams included in the Hackathon’s final were ATERMON, AtomicLab, CodeDefenders, OffZmi, Sigma Software and SOS Civil Defense Headquarters.
“I think the very idea and the reason we’re here today is manifold, but really to support Ukraine. I think this is a fantastic initiative, said McGuinness as the hackathon opened.
“Since 2014, Ukraine has made immense progress and last week’s announcement from the Council about candidate status is really a recognition of that progress. But of course, everybody needs to do more, and we’re here to help.”
Kaili added: “We are acting in a positive manner, creating positive disruption and supporting startups and trying to find hope inside this situation of having a war in Ukraine and at the European borders. So for me, it’s an honour to be here.”
As the overall winner of the Hackathon with its solution to restore Ukraine’s cultural monuments, AtomicLabs took home the €10,000 prize money.
The platform will bring together investors who can finance the reconstruction of the building/monument/cultural heritage and contractors who can fulfil the restoration order. NFT-funded investor attraction, NFT-gallery with filters, and artist rating — all on one platform.
The Hackathon’s official closing statement said: “Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the organizers and participants of the pan-European hackathon for actively searching for new solutions and ways to help Ukraine. The Coding Challenge for Ukraine has become an incredible opportunity for many European teams to show themselves internationally, to draw more attention to the war and the brave struggle of the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.”
