“Visualize 2030” is an initiative of the Arab Development Portal which aims to encourage the consumption of data by youth from the Arab region in support of advocacy campaigns and innovative thinking around development priorities and to advance their contribution to informed public debate in the region. The data camp brings together youth from Arab countries to enhance their technical and analytical capacity to produce visual content on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.

CONCEPT

Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the national development strategies that Arab governments have either adopted or are in the process of developing, the ADP is launching “The 2018 Visualize 2030” hackathon whereby it calls upon youth (aged 18-29) to use official statistics to visualize a data driven story addressing development challenges in the Arab region. Youth are also invited to use national official statistics to highlight the status of the data revolution in the Arab countries and how in some cases limited access to data and challenging data ecosystems affect citizens, civil society organizations, policy makers, etc.

In the 2018 Visualize 2030 edition, the final outputs will either focus on data driven stories developed based on official statistics, or highlight concerns regarding a development topic or group (women, youth, urban population, etc.) in a selected Arab country or the Arab region.

UN Member States have resolved “to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.”

Moreover, under the same ambitious 2030 Agenda, calls for global data to inform sustainable development policymaking are unparalleled. In the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” UN Member States emphasized the importance of “quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data… to help with the measurement of progress and to ensure no one is left behind.” (Paragraph 48).

National statistical offices in the Arab region hence face an urgent need to adapt and develop in order to meet the widening, increasing and progressing needs of data users, including the full implementation of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

In light of the above, youth are encouraged to take the below into consideration when drafting their applications:

• In your opinion and as per the official statistics, what is the most pressing problem or challenge
• How easy is it to access official and national statistics in your home country/ Arab region?
• What does the “data revolution” mean for your country/Arab region and how will it affect the “status-quo”?
• How would open data affect development in your home country or the Arab region? In what way is it empowering for you to voice your opinions, take positions and contribute to positive change?

OBJECTIVES

As data revolution is a key part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and data are considered to be one of the fundamental elements of the accountability framework of the SDGs, the 2018 Visualize 2030 aims to (1) show support for and encourage the adoption of open data policies and the SDGs; (2) contribute to the enhancement of data access, use and communication in a useful, meaningful and innovative way in the Arab region; and (3) bring together creative development practitioners, data analysts, statisticians, data scientists, coders, hackers, programmers, designers, etc. from the Arab region for one of a kind data adventure that stimulates public debate on expectations towards key development issues and that offers the space for brainstorming out-of-a-box solutions to pressing development challenges.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The result is a data-driven visual product that can take the form of a poster, infographics, illustrations, videos or any other visualization using the ADP Database or other official national sources.

EVALUATION COMMITTEE

The Evaluation committee will be formed to select the top 3 winners during the hackathon. The multidisciplinary evaluation committee will be formed of 6 members from different fields – development practitioners, policy-makers, computer science experts, leading data scientists, technology professionals, graphic designers, and founders of successful data-driven start-ups – to assess the submissions.

GRADING CRITERIA

Phase 1 — Working progress (20 points)

Preselection will take place after the deadline of the submission of applications.

Participants should thoughtfully fill the application as applications will be evaluated by a separate preselection jury that shall be composed of at least three experts.

During this phase, the jury will assess and grade each submitted proposal/application against the preselection award criterion. Teams will be notified about the results of the preselection according to the competition timeline.

Phase 2 — Preselection (10 points)

The preselected teams will be invited to the data camp to develop their ideas.

Over four days, the individuals/teams will be granted access to an on-site training and production facility where trainers on coding, graphic design, videography, animation, statistical analysis and visualization will assist the participants in producing their final products.

The trainers will assess and grade the idea’s development and participants’ team work.

Phase 3 — Final product and presentation (70 points)

The participants will present their final products during the Ceremony on the last day of the Hackathon. The final applications will be evaluated by a final jury, which will be composed of six experts from within and outside the Arab region.

At the end of the ADP Data Dive Camp, the committee will select top 3 winners who will be offered cash prizes (to be determined).