What is a “cyber ethics hackathon?”

Traditionally “hackathons” refer to a single event (in person or virtual) where many programmers or coders get together to work in teams to create technological products (like “find and fix the bugs in this code” or “create a robot that brushes your dog’s fur,” etc.). “Cyber Ethics” is the term we use at Kigumi to refer to the knowledge and skills that digital natives need to have to tackle their generation’s problems related to emerging technology. It includes everything from: knowing how to interact respectfully and ethically with generative AI; how to set boundaries for mental health with your tech devices and address unhealthy addictive behavior on social media; how to share data securely and leave a good digital footprint; how to avoid cyber risks and protect yourself from threats; and more.

How does it work?

The Cyber Ethics Hackathon is 100% virtual and takes place online on the official Hackathon website set up by Kigumi.

1. Once kids register, they, their parents (and / or teachers) will receive instructions and links 2 weeks prior to the event to look over the content (if needed). Parents / teachers will also receive emails with consent forms and information about what the event entails.

2. Each team should organise their own private meeting link with the help of their parents or teacher on Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams for the event (10am-1pm Singapore time on 25 August 2024) and not share the link with others (for safety).

3. During the official event time, the kids should go to the Hackathon website and follow the instructions with their teammates. Please note that it is up to parents and teachers to be the supervising the kids during the event - since there will be many teams working together on many links, Kigumi staff will not be able to monitor every team’s activity, and does not take responsibility for any of the online activities the kids are engaging in, if they navigate outside of the official Hackathon website.

4. At the end of the Hackathon, teams can optionally submit their informational video to Kigumi’s advisory panel for feedback and judging.
   

Is there any cost for participating?

No, there is no cost at any stage of registration or participation. We organised the Hackathon as a community event to empower kids to identify a real-life cyber problem affecting their community or school and then use their voice to suggest a piece of the solution. Most digital literacy trainings for kids nowadays are made by adults for digital natives; we wanted to put digital natives themselves in the driver’s seat and take an active role in helping others like them stay safe and responsible online.

What is kigumi group?

We are a social enterprise registered in Hong Kong that provides digital literacy services and trainings to schools, parents and children across Asia. We were founded in 2022 after we noticed that there weren’t many high-quality trainings for kids who didn’t use US or UK curricula and who weren’t living in North American cultural contexts. Now, we create our own proprietary e-trainings across areas like AI ethics, cyber reasoning, mental health and cyber well-being, cyberbullying, and more. We also do talks and workshops for parents and teachers across Asia (including for Alibaba, the Harbour School Hong Kong and Starfish Labz). Our social enterprise model means that for each training or workshop a school pays for, we donate the same training to a credible NGO serving underprivileged children in Asia. Most recently, we partnered with Fintech Academy Singapore to provide cyber well-being family packages to corporate audiences. You can learn more about Kigumi Group here or follow us on LinkedIn for updates.

what happens after the hackathon is over?

If You’re a Teacher / NGO: Use the Hackathon as a conversation starter internally with your students about cyber ethics and digital literacy. Reach out to your school counsellor or technology and learning instructor to find out about your current digital literacy curriculum and build off this momentum.

If You’re a Student Participant: All the content that you make during the Hackathon are solely owned by you (not Kigumi Group) and we encourage you to show your work to your parents, younger siblings, teachers and school leadership to demonstrate why cyber ethics and digital literacy is important to you and how these issues affect your everyday life. We also encourage you to include this in your academic portfolio to show your range of aptitude and community involvement.

If You’re a Parent: If you haven’t already set family guidelines for tech usage, we encourage you to work with your children after the Hackathon to start these friendly family conversations on tech / device usage, social media boundaries, and cybersafety. You can reach out to info@kigumigroup.com for free parental resources and worksheets to start these family conversations.

Whom do I contact with questions?

You can contact Mila Devenport at mila@kigumigroup.com with enquiries at any time.