Problems with censorship, extremely costly service and the lowest cellphone and Internet penetration rates in the Western Hemisphere cripple communication in Cuba. Do we think there is an app for that?
Inspired by Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez’s call to action and fueled by caffeine and carbs, about 50 computer programmers formed teams and spent the day building solutions and then presented them to judges at The LAB Miami, a coworking campus in Wynwood. The event was produced by the nonprofit Roots of Hope, a network of college students and young professionals that help empower Cuban youth through technology and entrepreneurial support.
Hackathon goers create apps for getting the information out - in cuba
1. 5/22/14, 4:59 PMHackathon goers create apps for getting the information out — in Cuba - 02/02/2014 | MiamiHerald.com
Page 1 of 2http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/01/v-print/3906687/miamis-first-hackathon-for-cuba.html
ROBERTO KOLTUN / EL NUEVO HERALD STAFF
Natalia Martinez, Director of Technology and Innovation of
Roots of Hope, left, and Raul Moas, Executive Director of
Roots of Hope, speak during the Hackathon for Cuba event
on Feb. 1, 2014 in Miami. The hackathon brought together
experts and programmers to devise innovative technology
solutions aimed at strengthening communications and
information access in Cuba. The event is organized by
Roots of Hope with support from the John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation.
Posted on Sun, Feb. 02, 2014
Hackathon goers create apps for getting the information out
— in Cuba
By Nancy Dahlberg
ndahlberg@miamiherald.com
Problems with censorship, extremely costly service
and the lowest cellphone and Internet penetration
rates in the Western Hemisphere cripple
communication in Cuba. Do we think there is an
app for that?
At South Florida’s first Hackathon for Cuba on
Saturday, there were plenty of ideas for tech
solutions to help Cubans disseminate information
under the harshest of conditions — and three
winners.
Inspired by Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez’s call to
action and fueled by caffeine and carbs, about 50
computer programmers formed teams and spent
the day building solutions and then presented them
to judges at The LAB Miami, a coworking campus
in Wynwood. The event was produced by the
nonprofit Roots of Hope, a network of college
students and young professionals that help
empower Cuban youth through technology and
entrepreneurial support. Three $1,000 cash prizes
provided by Roots of Hope, Pop.co, The LAB
Miami and MIA Collective were awarded.
Two of the three winning teams based their solutions on using email to disseminate the
information, which obviously seems quite primitive for this group. “You have to challenge yourself
to think outside the box,” explained Raul Moas, Roots of Hope’s executive director. “We’re taking
a step back in time to move forward.”
For hackathon participants Daniel Arzuaga, Felix Diaz and Salvador Pascual, using email just
made sense, as 70 percent of Cubans have access to email but just 3 percent have access to the
Internet.
“Our app creates the Internet without the Internet,” said Arzuaga, who moved here from Cuba 14