We invite our peers and colleagues, really everyone who is interested in the art & science of Hackathons, Hackdays, Hacknights, and other time-limited / open / collaborative / experimental / hands-on workshops, to join us for a convivial discussion of the past and future of the field.

At Hack:Org:X meetings, we share best practices, followed by group discussion on critical questions and research directions. Our initial meetings have focused on topics like:

• where and how to deploy open tools and infrastructure for better hackathons;
• how to plan interventions that respond to social needs and crisis topics;
• who are the stakeholders, where is the momentum building;
• insights and retrospectives from hackathon crews around Switzerland

On May 4, our meeting in Basel was supported by the ⬢DRIBDAT collective, BaselHack and Baseltech.swiss. We explored ten challenges for hackathon organizers, documenting our thoughts in the comments: from making events more fair & accessible to having a better handbook and issuing certificates. We even started a new cooperative. See also: the recap / the results

This was closely followed by virtual exchanges, and a second in-person meeting on August 17 in Zürich, hosted by MakeZurich and ewz. Here we worked together on a Stakeholder Analysis, and heard from several researchers who are collecting data and making critical inquiries into the topic of hackathons. See also: the recap / the results

Many of our discussions involve topics that were prominent at DINAcon in the past. We look forward to follow-up with further Hackathon Organizers workshops, and a hands-on session at the DINAcon HACKnights! For more information, visit https://hackorgx.dribdat.cc/