Three innovative apps were selected winners at the Violence Against Women (VAW) Hackathon in Nepal. The event was organized to bring together gender experts and technologists to explore innovative solutions to help victims of violence and the agencies that work to support them.

More than 100 volunteer technologists along with subject experts and practitioners on gender participated in the dynamic development session, producing prototypes of applications to address specific challenges in gender based violence, which is a leading cause of death of women around the world.

Broadly, the teams were asked to provide solutions to overcome Gender-based Violence through four themes:

·      Analyzing the causes and exploring prevention possibilities of VAW

·      Providing resources to victims through access to information, support, and justice

·      Coordinating service delivery so organizations can partner with each another

·      Monitoring law enforcement and service providers to ensure that they do a good job

The World Bank will continue supporting the winning teams with the development of the apps. Jointly organized by the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Young Innovations and the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), the Hackathon kicks off the theme of joining forces to overcome violence against women in Nepal, which will be followed up by a regional conference starting tomorrow.

“The hackathon is about using technology for building new partnerships to help address development challenges. We are delighted that during this hackathon we were able to work with enterprising young Nepali technologists and activists who demonstrated energy, innovation and a deep commitment to partner in their country's development,” said Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Manager for Nepal.

The 18 teams gave 4 minutes to present with a 2-minute question and answer session. The apps were judged based on impact, quality of the product, sustainability, and presentation. The winning apps of the hackathon were, Your Voice, Our Support, Mero Katha, and Self Help. 

The jury was comprised of diverse experts from across different organizations and fields of expertise:

·      Laura Watson, Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, IFC;

·      Padam Raj Bhatta, Director General, Department of Women and Children, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare;

·      Amrit Kumar Pant, General Secretary, CAN;

·      Karmath Dangol, Vice President, Cloudfactory;

·      Sushil Pandey, Knowledge Management and Communication Specialist; ICIMO

·      Namrata Sharma, CEO, WOREC Nepal

·      Maria Correia, Sector Manager, Social Development Unit, World Bank

Complementary to the hackathon, the World Bank, in collaboration with Oxfam International, will jointly host a conference, Joining Forces to Overcome Violence Against Women, to start tomorrow on June 17-18, 2013, in Kathmandu. The event will bring together global and regional policy makers, researchers, practitioners and public figures actively working on gender-based violence in South Asia.

The conference objectives will be:

·    To discuss current policy and practice in tackling violence against women in South Asia;

·    To debate the role of different actors – including from the public, private and civil society spheres – in addressing violence against women, drawing on diverse experiences and solutions;

·    To strengthen regional dialogue and collaboration aimed at reducing violence against women.

“We will be present here in Nepal with women and opinion leaders from all of South Asia to break the silence. Together, we want to understand the complexity, scale and gravity of Violence Against Women, so that we can take a step forward to overcome it", says Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Vice President for South Asia.