The Urban Up 3.0 Hackathon concluded successfully, uniting some of the brightest minds in technology, entrepreneurship, and urban planning to address real-world challenges faced by Al-Bireh Municipality. Organized by Palestine TechnoPark in collaboration with the Palestinian Syndicate for Information Sciences & Technology, and supported by GIZ and Al-Bireh Municipality, this event sought to create actionable solutions that will positively impact urban living for Palestinians.
Building on the success of Urban Up 1.0, which supported early-stage startups, and Urban Up 2.0, which helped raise municipal awareness of digital transformation, Urban Up 3.0 focused on taking actionable steps to solve the most pressing challenges facing Palestinian municipalities. The hackathon provided participants with a structured platform to design, develop, and pitch solutions that could be implemented in Al-Bireh, ultimately improving urban services, infrastructure, and sustainability.
Comprehensive Preparation: Building Knowledge and Skills for Success
In the lead-up to the hackathon, participants engaged in a series of pre-hackathon training sessions, designed to refine their problem-solving abilities and enhance their ability to turn ideas into tangible, actionable solutions.
The comprehensive training included:
These sessions provided the teams with the tools and expertise required to develop ideas that are not only innovative but also practical and impactful in the context of Palestinian municipalities.
On the day of the hackathon, participants presented 22 innovative ideas, each designed to address a variety of urban challenges such as waste management, smart infrastructure, traffic solutions, and community engagement. These ideas ranged from smart city technologies to digital platforms aimed at improving municipal services and fostering civic participation.
After careful evaluation by a panel of experts and mentors, the top 3 teams were selected based on their creativity, feasibility, and potential for real-world impact within Al-Bireh Municipality.
The winners of Urban Up 3.0 were awarded for their exceptional ideas, each of which will be adopted by Al-Bireh Municipality and supported by Palestine Techno Park for implementation. The winning teams are:
As part of their prize, the top three teams will receive continuous support and mentorship from Palestine Techno Park, which will incubate their ideas and provide the necessary resources to bring them to fruition. This partnership will ensure that the innovative solutions presented during the hackathon will be implemented in Al-Bireh Municipality, with the potential to expand across Palestine.
The Urban Up 3.0 Hackathon is part of a broader initiative aimed at creating a sustainable future for Palestine through innovative urban solutions. By bringing together diverse stakeholders—including local communities, municipalities, innovators, and public authorities—the event reinforced the vital role of technology and citizen participation in the development of smart cities.
The success of this hackathon demonstrates the power of collaboration in addressing urban challenges and enhancing the quality of life in Palestinian cities. With the ongoing support of the Palestinian tech community, the solutions developed during this event will continue to evolve, making a lasting impact on urban development in Palestine.
