Gucci’s Chime for Change encourages social change via hackathon

Italy’s Gucci and its charity Chime for Change are scouting engineers, designers, product managers and marketing experts of all levels for the second Chime Hack hackathon.

The goal of Chime for Change’s Chime Hack, in partnership with TEDWomen and Twitter, is to create technology solutions that promote safety for girls and women. Gucci’s Chime for Change is dedicated to making the lives of women and young girls better through initiatives concentrating on health, education and justice.

Hack for good
Chime for Change organized its first Chime Hack in 2013 to create mobile applications to assist women and girls in need. The event also touched upon social entrepreneurship and encouraged more girls and women to enter the tech fields (see story).

This year’s Chime Hack will take place July 9-12 in San Francisco, with a kickoff event at Twitter’s headquarters. The hackathon is also supported by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, The Kering Foundation and Hearst Magazines.

During the four-day hackathon participants will be challenged to develop tech-driven solutions to three challenges that affect the global female population: safety in the developing world, safety on campus and promoting healthy relationships. During the hackathon, the teams will be provided with access to key leaders and nonprofit organizations working in the space to help develop and craft their digital solution ideas.

Chime for Change's Web site

In a statement, Gucci’s president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri said, “Through Chime for Change, Gucci has served as a convening force behind an unprecedented group of partners across many industries, including technology, philanthropy, media and entertainment. The Chime Hack events reflect Gucci’s focus on innovation.

“It is especially motivating that this year’s challenges are centered on promoting safety, as Gucci and our parent company, Kering, have a long history of supporting justice for girls and women around the world.”