This weekend, February 21-22 at the MIT Media Lab, Code for Boston is teaming up with MassIT, the Commonwealth’s IT department, and other local municipal partners to bring you CodeAcross Boston 2015. The local chapter of the national civic technology non-profit Code for America, Code for Boston is a group of volunteer designers, developers, researchers, community organizers, and engaged citizens who work to make their communities better places to live, work, and play.
With generous support from Microsoft New England, this year’s CodeAcross is set to be the largest yet. The nearly sold-out event will involve 130+ people from across the Greater Boston area including technologists, government and municipal workers, and community members.
The goal for this year’s two-day event is to inspire collaboration, discussion, and civic hacking to find solutions to the greatest problems faced by our communities. This year, CodeAcross coincides with International Open Data Day so participants will also be utilizing open data sets from across the state to support their work.
“We’re really looking to use CodeAcross as an opportunity to start thinking about ways to address civic issues in our communities,” Harlan Weber, Code for Boston’s Brigade Captain said. “Emphasis on start: We’re looking at this event as the kickoff of a new slate of community-driven civic innovation projects in 2015, and we hope that all of the projects continue after CodeAcross through Code for Boston and in collaboration with our municipal partners.”
As organizers, Code for Boston hopes that the informal atmosphere of collaboration at this year’s CodeAcross event will allow all participating groups – government and municipal employees, community members, and technologists – to work together in an environment that fosters discussion, partnership, and problem-solving. The event will incorporate thematic tracks addressing public safety and justice, health and human services, economic development, and citizen engagement. Participant projects may take several forms: teams may make policy recommendations, develop a data-visualization, create a business plan for a civic startup, or any number of other project ideas. All good ideas are welcome. We are looking forward to a lively event resulting in a number of exciting projects for the year to come.
Kristen Weber is the Communications Lead for Code for Boston. She has been involved with Code for Boston since its inception in 2012. Kristen is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in business, technology, and the non-profit sector.