A codefest or hackathon — an event to engage participants in collaborative computer programming — was launched by the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in partnership with OCEANA and Karagatan Patrol was launched on June 30, 2020.
KARAGATHON fuses the Filipino word “karagatan” with “hackathon“. Karagatan is Filipino for the ocean.
The challenge of the 1st KARAGATHON is to develop solutions to detect, identify and analyze, and recommend solutions to illegal fishing in the Philippines.
The organizers cite the importance of technology in strengthening enforcement of laws that protect and monitor the Philippines’ maritime domain. There are at least 5 laws that govern commercial fishing in the Philippines, among these are: Fisheries Code as amended by RA 10654, labor law, anti-trafficking law, domestic shipping law and merchant marine law. There are at least 30 agencies tasked to enforce them.
The hackathon will focus on the technology-based innovations to address the challenges in fully implementing fisheries and related laws that directly affect the health and resiliency of our seas and our fisheries.
Requirements
- Open to all teams or organizations composed of Filipinos with identified team leader and members.
- A team may register multiple entries provided that each entry proposes a different solution.
- There is no age limit for team members. Applicants who are below 18 years old must provide consent from parent/s or legal guardian/s.
- Applicants who are affiliated with the contest sponsors are not eligible.
- Team leaders must be able to present the proposed solutions on August 30, 2020.
- Karagathon reserves the right to verify the eligibility of entries.
Who are Eligible?
- All entries are required to register on the Karagathon online application form from June 30 to July 15, 2020. Additional supporting documents may be sent to karagatan.patrol@gmail.com.
- Team members should like the Oceana Philippines Facebook page and join the Karagatan Patrol Facebook Group to get a better handle on the challenges related to illegal fishing in the Philippines.
- Qualified teams should join the Karagathon Slack workspace where resource persons can be consulted on the mechanics, application development, and other questions about Oceana, Karagatan Patrol and challenges on illegal fishing that will be addressed by the software application.
- The qualified teams will be given a briefing on the various aspects of Philippines Fisheries, such as science, the legal framework, and current fisheries issues.
- Submissions must be entirely the original work of the applicants and must not contain anything that are protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights without the expressed prior consent of the owner of such rights.
- The team has Intellectual Property rights to all materials to be submitted to the contest.
- Any and all works created during this Karagathon are developed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Philippines
Solution Format
Solutions can be in any coding language. It is recommended that the created solutions can run on any of the following platforms :
- Android and iOS device such as smartphones, tablets, etc.
- Short Message Service (SMS)
- Web or mobile application
- Cloud computing platforms
- Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
- Other devices that includes softwares developed by the participants such as but not limited to open-source electronics such as raspberry pi, arduino, etc.
- The final submission of solutions will be on August 30. Demonstration and judging of the proposed solutions will be on September 4, 2020.
- The decisions of the winner selection committee are final and binding and entrants will not challenge them. Entrants are responsible for taxes from any winnings and for their expenses.
Application
Only team entries are accepted and must be registered as a Team. Each team member is required to register still as a participant. Entries must be in by July 15, 2020.
Proceed here to register each participant and your team and read more on details of the competition.