Hack-Ney-Thon competition to revamp council website

Tech event in Shoreditch. Pic: @PotentiallyCo

Tech event in Shoreditch. Pic: @PotentiallyCo

Residents are being given the chance to demonstrate their technological prowess in the first ever Hack-Ney-Thon, an event aimed at streamlining Hackney council’s website.

Participants will be organised into groups and asked to create an effective, tech-based solution to the website’s organisation. The best of these designs will be promoted and used by the council and could prove to be a key community link for the borough in the coming years.

Areas for improvement include the online registration of births, marriages and deaths; the notification of currently available commercial properties; and the creation of a category, which will allow residents to put forward their own suggestions for other changes to the site.

Councillor Guy Nicholson, Hackney’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: [the event] is designed to harness talent by collaborating with a range of creative businesses and individuals to enhance Hackney Council’s services. The objective is to design services that are efficient and provide a better quality service for residents.”

“This event is an example of the council’s continued partnership working with other local organisations, including the creative tech community, to help stimulate economic growth in addition to supporting council services at a time of central Government led spending cuts.”

Neither City Labs nor TechCity UK, both partners in the Hack-Ney-Thon, were available for comment.

The area around Old Street underground station has become a renowned centre for technological development in recent years. It has been nicknamed ‘Silicon Roundabout’ to illustrate the amount of tech start-ups in the area.

The 24-hour event on November 15 and16 will be held at Old Street’s recently opened Publicis Drugstore. The winning entry will be judged on its practicality and the extent to which it will improve the lives of Hackney residents. A prize will be given to the overall winners of the event though this has yet to be confirmed.

 

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