As Pakistanis, we cling to hope like a security blanket. Desensitized to an inhumane level after being bombarded left, right and center by news that shrivels up everything good inside of us, we are left with little optimism and no solutions. Still, right before the tunnel with no end in sight, hope stands solitary as the last stop on our collective bullet train to doom.
In these times, it is an oft-repeated wisdom that only the politically engaged get their say in how to “fix” Pakistan. The idea that technological expertise and business strategy, trapped as these skills often are within the confines of a 9-to-5 system, could have an impact within the social and economic concerns of the everyday citizen is almost unthinkable.
In comes Pakathon, an annual global event which has situated itself firmly at our final stop. Standing on more practical feet than mere rhetoric, the event pairs multitalented individuals with mentors, giving them one weekend to create a software or hardware solution for issues in healthcare, education, human rights, energy, housing and retail. The group with the best idea goes on to compete in the global event in Boston, for the chance to win up to $10,000 to implement its project, as well as opening up access to mentors and non-governmental organizations around the world.
Conceived last year in Boston, Pakathon has now grown to 16 cities across Pakistan and North America, bringing together designers, developers, strategists and researchers to create a progressive hive mind that seeks lasting social impact projects. Participants are not exclusive to Pakistani origin – many young professionals and students in the tech industry are motivated to be part of something lasting.
[quote]Gone are the days that your tailor goes missing, and you're left high and dry before a major family wedding[/quote]
Months of planning culminated in a highly successful three-day event, where people from all kinds of professional, educational and even national backgrounds—fueled entirely by passion, adrenaline and caffeine—worked together to conceive a wide array of creative solutions for problems Pakistan has faced since its inception, and continues to struggle with in an increasingly fast-paced technological era.
“I don’t think human rights can make a lot of progress at an event like this,” said Nabeel Shakeel Ahmed, part of the Pakathon Toronto organizing committee. “There’s no solution for intolerance or racism. But things that do have technical answers, like health or energy, have a lot of opportunities that can be leveraged. You can’t be dogmatic about what kind of solutions you want. It can’t just be political, it can’t just be for the non-profit sector, and it can’t be just for the market either.”
His prediction turned out to be mostly true. Although the human rights issues stream received the most attention on the first night, most projects revolved around issues of data infrastructure, healthcare and education. One group, Zama Aunty, aims to improve female patient mobility, especially in the rural areas of KPK – an important initiative since no woman should be denied healthcare in the absence of someone to accompany her to the doctor’s. Mohallay Walay designed an online platform to connect neighborhoods, allowing for proximity-based incident alerts, meetings, complaints, trading and services.
Another, Futafut, presents itself as an alternative to the word-of-mouth referral system by creating an SMS platform to connect micro-businesses to end-users. Gone are the days that your tailor goes missing, and you’re left high and dry before a major family wedding. And if you need low-cost legal aid to sue him for a job poorly done, Apna Vaqeel would help connect you to a law student or law professor via SMS.
With over 160 participants, Pakathon Toronto has been touted as the largest single chapter in the 2014 global event. 46 ideas were pitched on the first night alone, partnerships formed, strategies developed, which boiled down to 21 presented to the judging panel on Sunday night.
The judges were unanimous in their pick for first prize: United Responders, an initiative that aims to create a centralized dispatcher system for all emergency services in Pakistan, relying on GPS navigation systems to bring first responders to the scene immediately. The idea has already received support from local agencies such as the Aman Foundation, and the team will be pitching it at the final stage in Boston in October.
Hussain Bokhari, the leader of the United Responders team, is optimistic about his project, beyond just the scope of Pakathon. “We’re going to spend the next couple of weeks refining the idea and ironing out kinks and developing the software and business plan. We’re talking to people back home, talking to stakeholders, the ambulances, the telecom companies and we’re ready to get this going.”
[quote]Sara, an SMS-based internet search is seeking to make data accessible across Pakistan[/quote]
The team will be joining second and third place winners, Sara (an SMS-based internet search seeking to make data accessible across Pakistan) and Sumjay (an affordable subscription-based online tutoring platform which aims to end tuition culture).
“The thing that I really enjoy hearing about from teams is what their unfair advantage is,” said Steve Tam, the marketing and community outreach lead for crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo. “What’s the thing that’s going to set them apart from the 50 other teams that are working on the same problem in other parts of the world that they may never come in contact with?”
Special mention went to two teams, namely ShadiExpress, an online rating-based retail platform to make wedding planning easier and more accessible to all income levels, and PayPaisa, a bitcoin-based online remittance system looking to put an end to the hawala system.
“I want to be inspired to work on something when these 3 days are over and I’m hoping more people here feel that way. That’s where the real impact is going to show,” said Syeda Zaki, a financial analyst based in Toronto. Another participant guzzling down his first ever Pakola quite aptly called it “culture shock in a can,” pointing out that it was the most foreign aspect of the event to him.
Ali Taiyeb, the brains behind the operation in Toronto, underestimated how well it would be received. “When we started thinking about bringing Pakathon from Boston to Toronto, we weren’t really sure what kind of support we’d get, but the amount of people that have gone out of their way to support this is crazy.”
In his closing remarks, Bilal Khan, managing director of OneEleven, said, “I can’t tell you how personal listening to these ideas was. I’ve witnessed, experienced and seen what happens. I’ve also seen the potential in these people. And frankly, I think it’s in the private citizens where Pakistan’s progress will actually happen. Where the institutions have failed the country, the people are passionate and driven, and this event is a prime example of that. I’m blown away.”
Because who knows? Maybe Pakistan’s biggest hope for socioeconomic success does lie in a room full of passionate people working together oceans away from home.
In these times, it is an oft-repeated wisdom that only the politically engaged get their say in how to “fix” Pakistan. The idea that technological expertise and business strategy, trapped as these skills often are within the confines of a 9-to-5 system, could have an impact within the social and economic concerns of the everyday citizen is almost unthinkable.
In comes Pakathon, an annual global event which has situated itself firmly at our final stop. Standing on more practical feet than mere rhetoric, the event pairs multitalented individuals with mentors, giving them one weekend to create a software or hardware solution for issues in healthcare, education, human rights, energy, housing and retail. The group with the best idea goes on to compete in the global event in Boston, for the chance to win up to $10,000 to implement its project, as well as opening up access to mentors and non-governmental organizations around the world.
Conceived last year in Boston, Pakathon has now grown to 16 cities across Pakistan and North America, bringing together designers, developers, strategists and researchers to create a progressive hive mind that seeks lasting social impact projects. Participants are not exclusive to Pakistani origin – many young professionals and students in the tech industry are motivated to be part of something lasting.
[quote]Gone are the days that your tailor goes missing, and you're left high and dry before a major family wedding[/quote]
Months of planning culminated in a highly successful three-day event, where people from all kinds of professional, educational and even national backgrounds—fueled entirely by passion, adrenaline and caffeine—worked together to conceive a wide array of creative solutions for problems Pakistan has faced since its inception, and continues to struggle with in an increasingly fast-paced technological era.
“I don’t think human rights can make a lot of progress at an event like this,” said Nabeel Shakeel Ahmed, part of the Pakathon Toronto organizing committee. “There’s no solution for intolerance or racism. But things that do have technical answers, like health or energy, have a lot of opportunities that can be leveraged. You can’t be dogmatic about what kind of solutions you want. It can’t just be political, it can’t just be for the non-profit sector, and it can’t be just for the market either.”
His prediction turned out to be mostly true. Although the human rights issues stream received the most attention on the first night, most projects revolved around issues of data infrastructure, healthcare and education. One group, Zama Aunty, aims to improve female patient mobility, especially in the rural areas of KPK – an important initiative since no woman should be denied healthcare in the absence of someone to accompany her to the doctor’s. Mohallay Walay designed an online platform to connect neighborhoods, allowing for proximity-based incident alerts, meetings, complaints, trading and services.
Another, Futafut, presents itself as an alternative to the word-of-mouth referral system by creating an SMS platform to connect micro-businesses to end-users. Gone are the days that your tailor goes missing, and you’re left high and dry before a major family wedding. And if you need low-cost legal aid to sue him for a job poorly done, Apna Vaqeel would help connect you to a law student or law professor via SMS.
With over 160 participants, Pakathon Toronto has been touted as the largest single chapter in the 2014 global event. 46 ideas were pitched on the first night alone, partnerships formed, strategies developed, which boiled down to 21 presented to the judging panel on Sunday night.
The judges were unanimous in their pick for first prize: United Responders, an initiative that aims to create a centralized dispatcher system for all emergency services in Pakistan, relying on GPS navigation systems to bring first responders to the scene immediately. The idea has already received support from local agencies such as the Aman Foundation, and the team will be pitching it at the final stage in Boston in October.
Hussain Bokhari, the leader of the United Responders team, is optimistic about his project, beyond just the scope of Pakathon. “We’re going to spend the next couple of weeks refining the idea and ironing out kinks and developing the software and business plan. We’re talking to people back home, talking to stakeholders, the ambulances, the telecom companies and we’re ready to get this going.”
[quote]Sara, an SMS-based internet search is seeking to make data accessible across Pakistan[/quote]
The team will be joining second and third place winners, Sara (an SMS-based internet search seeking to make data accessible across Pakistan) and Sumjay (an affordable subscription-based online tutoring platform which aims to end tuition culture).
“The thing that I really enjoy hearing about from teams is what their unfair advantage is,” said Steve Tam, the marketing and community outreach lead for crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo. “What’s the thing that’s going to set them apart from the 50 other teams that are working on the same problem in other parts of the world that they may never come in contact with?”
Special mention went to two teams, namely ShadiExpress, an online rating-based retail platform to make wedding planning easier and more accessible to all income levels, and PayPaisa, a bitcoin-based online remittance system looking to put an end to the hawala system.
“I want to be inspired to work on something when these 3 days are over and I’m hoping more people here feel that way. That’s where the real impact is going to show,” said Syeda Zaki, a financial analyst based in Toronto. Another participant guzzling down his first ever Pakola quite aptly called it “culture shock in a can,” pointing out that it was the most foreign aspect of the event to him.
Ali Taiyeb, the brains behind the operation in Toronto, underestimated how well it would be received. “When we started thinking about bringing Pakathon from Boston to Toronto, we weren’t really sure what kind of support we’d get, but the amount of people that have gone out of their way to support this is crazy.”
In his closing remarks, Bilal Khan, managing director of OneEleven, said, “I can’t tell you how personal listening to these ideas was. I’ve witnessed, experienced and seen what happens. I’ve also seen the potential in these people. And frankly, I think it’s in the private citizens where Pakistan’s progress will actually happen. Where the institutions have failed the country, the people are passionate and driven, and this event is a prime example of that. I’m blown away.”
Because who knows? Maybe Pakistan’s biggest hope for socioeconomic success does lie in a room full of passionate people working together oceans away from home.