The Ghana Internet Safety Foundation Academy (GISF Academy) has partnered with the Cybersecurity Authority, the Trust & Safety Hackathon, USA, The Embedded Learning Challenge, and other affiliate partners to organise a hybrid Trust and Safety Hackathon.

This event, centred around the central theme of 'Securing the Digital Frontier,’ aims to develop innovative cybersecurity solutions to address Ghana's growing concerns about Cyberbullying and Sextortion.

The hackathon is scheduled to be a virtual and in-person event that will take place at Academic City University College. The application deadline is May 6, 2024. The selected winners for the next round will be announced on May 13, 2024. Workshops will follow from May 20-24, 2024. The hackathon will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

Participants are required to submit a novel approach to detect, mitigate, or educate users about cyberbullying or sextortion. The solution should be scalable, user-friendly, and have the potential for real-world implementation in the Ghanaian and African context. Participants are also expected to prepare to prototype, pitch their ideas, and demonstrate the feasibility of their solutions.

The hackathon is designed to foster collaboration and diversity. We encourage participants to form teams of two to four members with diverse skills, including coding, design, or subject matter expertise in online safety. Together, teams will brainstorm ideas, design a solution, and develop a prototype or presentation for the hackathon judges.

"We are excited to launch Ghana's first-ever Online Trust and Safety Hackathon, a pioneering initiative to create a safe and secure online environment for Africa “said the President of GISF Academy, Emmanuel Adinkra. "We encourage all interested participants (students) to register and participate in this exciting event, which will help enable and shape the future of cybersecurity in Ghana and beyond."

For more information about the hackathon event, please visit gisfoundation.com or the LinkedIn page, or email hackathon@gisfoundation.com.