https://arab.news/r2p6s
- Social responsibility is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030
RIYADH: The winners of the Saudi Social Responsibility Association’s five-day hackathon were honored at a ceremony in Riyadh on Thursday, March 23 — designated as Saudi National Responsibility Day. The association also launched its Social Responsibility Academy at the event.
Osama Al-Zamil, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and patron of the event, said: “Social responsibility is a sign of a civilized and humane society, in which individuals and institutions are responsible for creating a loyal presence within their society and contributing to a number of projects and social-awareness initiatives.”
Social responsibility is one of the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to create a community characterized by a solid structure, moderate Islam, a sense of belonging, and pride in Islamic culture and heritage.
“Social responsibility is repeated on a daily and habitual basis. We find it between neighbors, between friends, and between colleagues,” Al-Zamil said.
The Social Responsibility Hackathon brought together innovators and developers to find creative solutions to help boost social responsibility.
The winner of the challenge, receiving SAR15,000 ($3,993), was the group Haseed. They developed a program that uses artificial intelligence to turn physical books into audio books.
Abdulrahman Alsabeeq, Haseed’s project manager, told Arab News: “Many of us strive to read because we know it enriches and develops the mind. Many of us buy books but unfortunately leave them on the shelf, forgotten. This is the issue we’re trying to solve at Haseed.”
Coming in second place was the group Zero Waste, receiving SAR10,000 ($2,662), and in third was Responsible Investor, winning SAR5,000 ($1,331).
The 48 student participants were split into 12 groups, each following one of three tracks: quality of life, environmental and recycling, and educational economics.
The issues tackled across the five days included counseling and generating ideas, project management skills, marketing and feasibility studies, error solutions, design and aesthetic enhancement, and software usage.