Google Data

By Christiaan Adams, Developer Advocate, Google.org Crisis Response Team
Cross-posted with the Google.org Blog

On June 2nd and 3rd, volunteers around the world are coming together for the Random Hacks of Kindness Global Hackathon. Born in 2009, Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is the brainchild of a partnership among Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, HP, NASA and the World Bank. The RHoK international community is over 4000 strong, encompassing not only computer programmers but also engineers, designers, web experts, project managers and other tech-savvy do-gooders, as well as subject matter experts in areas as diverse as disaster risk management, climate change, water, health care and human rights. This group of unlikely collaborators works together to define challenges facing humanity in local communities all around the world, and then to rapidly prototype solutions during an intensive weekend of round-the-clock work.

Fueled by plenty of coffee and a strong desire to make a difference in the world, "hackers for humanity" working alongside subject matter experts have created innovative solutions to pressing problems in their communities.

• A team at RHoK in Trento, Italy designed a mobile application that connects charities distributing food to needy populations with restaurants and businesses with excess food to donate.
• A team at RHoK Philadelphia designed a web platform enabling homeless service providers to easily identify empty beds and open soup kitchens for Philadelphia and New Jersey homeless populations.
• A team at RHoK Washington D.C. designed a tool to visualize complex landslide risk algorithms, making the information accessible to local mayors and urban planners making building decisions.
• A team at RHoK Sydney created a crowdsourcing tool to allow Australian citizens to rapidly report and respond to bushfires.

In the two short years since its inception, RHoK communities have sprung up in close to 50 cities around the world, with the support of over 180 diverse partner organizations, from government and academia, to the non-profit and private sectors.

RHoK Global in June 2012 will be taking place simultaneously in 21+ cities globally, from Seattle to Santo Domingo, from Philadelphia to Prague. Googlers will be attending the events in San Francisco, Prague, and other locations, and we hope you can join us.

Be a part of this global movement to make the world a better place through the innovative use of technology. Register at www.rhok.org/events and come out to hack for humanity in a city near you on June 2nd and 3rd, 2012!


Christiaan Adams is a developer advocate with the Google Earth Outreach Team and Google.org’s Crisis Response Team, where he helps nonprofits and disaster response organizations to use online mapping tools. When he’s not at work, he likes to go hiking or mountain biking, using Google Maps, of course.

Posted by Scott Knaster, Editor