[SIDE EVENT: EHFG 2019 HACKATHON]

EHFG 2019 Hackathon

The second EHFG Hackathon took place in Bad Hofgastein, Austria, from 1-4 October, 2019 back to back with the EHFG 2019 conference.

With an aim to tackle major health policy concerns and find out of the box solutions, the first EHFG Hackathon was organised in 2018 in collaboration with our partner EIT Health. After fruitful cooperation, we joined forces again to address a recurrent problem that requires immediate attention - vaccine hesitancy.

Marked as a top 10 threat to global health in 2019, and a top priority for the World Health Organisation (WHO), vaccine hesitancy threatens to compromise the progress made in fighting vaccine-preventable diseases. In the wake of the anti-vaccination movements growing popularity, there have been disease outbreaks in regions where they had previously been eradicated. Measles, for example, has seen a 30% increase in cases globally. In addition, negative beliefs based on myths, fear and misinformation are aggravating the problem. To find tangible solutions, inputs from a wide spectrum of professionals are urgently needed.

The 2019 Hackathon contest therefore aimed to bring together 35 experts of different backgrounds and cultures in a 3-day marathon of intense solution-oriented work in small groups with the aim of exploring innovative and implementable solutions to this complex problem. In 2019, we hoped to move forward with this creative format of intersectoral collaboration which promotes quick, unusual and unexpected solutions. The competing teams were distributed according to their diverse individual expertise and background and will present their solutions in front of an expert jury. Three finalist teams presented their pitches to the audience during the Closing Plenary on October 4, 2019. Two prizes, a jury prize and an audience prize, amounting to €25.000 were awarded to the Hackathon winners.

Applications were open for all with interest in health policies. If you are a health professional, an IT expert, a business specialist, a designer or other – at any rate an open-minded, creative thinker who enjoys working under pressure in teams with the goal of arriving at a joint solution, we are looking for you!

For any further information please contact us.