NYUAD Social Good Hackathon in the Arab World

In the Fall of every year, I help organize NYU Abu Dhabi's Hackathon for Social Good in the Arab World at the university's Abu Dhabi campus, with Sana Odeh and a few other partners in crime. I have been involved with this since 2013. I often help with the learning sessions coordination and supporting students in whatever it takes to be successful in presenting their projects. I wish to do more service to the region in the future, but this is the smallest bit I can help with today.

While I am not the biggest fan of short bursts of exposure to social problems (through things like volunteer tourism), this hackathon is different because it is often the first and only exposure for a lot of kids from the Arab world to like-minded youth who are aspiring to affect change in the region with their technical know-how. The value of the relationships and exposure to new ideas that students far outweighs the potential downsides of the format.

I am very grateful for NYUAD's support for this event every year.

Pictures from the hackathons over the years and fun times we have