Big social ideas come from first GivingBackathon

Last weekend over 50 people spent their rainy days finding solutions for some of Armadale’s most complicated social issues, at the City’s first ever GivingBackathon.

The participants followed a designed thinking process, which put the community at the centre of problem solving. Each team took on a social issue and by the end of the day developed a potential solution for presentation to the judges.

City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM, JP said the GivingBackathon encouraged local social entrepreneurs to give back to the community through social enterprise.

“They could present a prototype product, service or strategy and it was great so many people were keen to donate their time and ideas to give back to our community.

“The solutions the teams presented were inventive, exciting and really promising,” he said.

Head Judge Katie Stubley from the Centre for Social Impact presented the winning team, led by president of Bedfordale Connect Incorporated, with the title of GivingBackathon 2017 Winners.

Their proposal included a social media solution, using young people in Bedfordale to engage via social media with other young people, with the hope it will lead to youth driven community projects.

Head Judge Katie Stubley said the solution presented a simple opportunity that could easily be implemented and lead to a significant social impact.

The Runner up prize was awarded to V4me, led by AtWork Australia, for their solution to support unemployed and underemployed people in finding work.

They created an online Webapp tool where people can vouch for the experience and skills of jobseekers. The tool provides the opportunity for community members to post video references to give employers peace of mind when hiring someone who may have been out of employment or struggling to find employment.

The People’s Choice award went to the Waste Warriors, who created an app based game, where children can change the waste behaviors of their family by trying to collect rewards for completing real world tasks like turning out the lights or using reusable shopping bags.

The City of Armadale partnered with Impact Seed, an innovative not for profit organisation, to develop this first ever Hackathon event in Armadale.