It is an activity in which participants find solutions to concrete problems from everyday life through teamwork with the help of modern technology. The Hackathon, which was held from 27 June to 1 July in the premises of the Centre of Technical Culture Rijeka, gathered 70 participants aged 9 to 17. On the first day of the competition, teams were formed that worked together on problems, selected in accordance with the needs of the local community. The problems or topics that the teams worked on were: Noise, What kind of air we breathe, Smart everything around us, My region and Kvarner is playing.

head of the Rijeka City Department of Education and Schooling Sanda Sušanj

On the last day of the Hackathon, participants divided into 21 teams presented their proposals and solutions to a three-member jury that evaluated their presentations, as well as the creativity and functionality of the ideas. The 5 best were selected, i.e. one idea for each problem. The teams whose solutions were selected as the best won valuable prizes in the form of computer equipment (gaming headsets, chairs and keyboards, tablets and monitors).

The Hackathon is one of the programmes within the project Stori po svoju, promoted by the Municipality of Kostrena, and partners are the City of Rijeka, the City of Kraljevica and the Centre of Culture Kostrena. Before the award ceremony, the participants were welcomed by the head of the Rijeka City Department of Education and Schooling Sanda Sušanj, the director of the Centre of Culture Kostrena, Borka Reljac and the mayor of the Kostrena Municipality Dražen Vranić who thanked them for their participation. “The project “Story po svoju” supports our efforts in creating the best possible environment for living and working for our children and young people. If we want a future in which our young people will be successful leaders, entrepreneurs and workers, able to make decisions and deal with challenges, then it is important that we get involved and try to create as many opportunities as possible to acquire new knowledge and necessary skills in order to be even more successful. I would like to thank all the participants, our Centre of Culture Kostrena, which took the main organizational role in the project, as well as the City of Rijeka and the City of Kraljevica, which recognised the importance and joined the project,” pointed out Vranić.

70 participants took part in the project

The project “Stori po svoju” is intended for children and young people up to the age of 29 in the territory of the Rijeka Urban Agglomeration, who through the project were given an opportunity to participate in over 40 workshops, from STEAM workshops to workshops on entrepreneurship, personal and professional development, social engagement and sustainable development as well as in mentoring programmes for devising and implementing projects aimed at improving the quality of life in the local community, the Hackathon, camps and study visits to STEAM organisations and events. The project was initiated in February 2021 and will last until February 2023.

More information about the workshops is available on the website of the Centre of Culture Kostrena.

The project is financed by the European Social Fund, Operational Program Efficient Human Resources 2014-2020.