In South-East Asia, 70% of the population live within coastal areas. Malaysia has the 29th longest coastline globally, with over 10% of the population living directly within 5km of the coast.

Presently, coastal managers and inhabitants are facing changes in these vulnerable coastal areas, which are threatened by multiple human stressors such as overexploitation resource use, unsustainable land use, and land-based or sea-based pollution.

The primary concern for coastal communities includes coastal erosion, flooding, saltwater intrusion and inundation. These may destroy critical infrastructure & property, reduce fisheries production and threaten conservation efforts for organisms & coastal ecosystems. Multidisciplinary and sustainable approaches include using AI, IoT, Cloud and enhanced visualisations or insights from other sectors, including entrepreneurship or social innovators, besides co-creating with the communities themselves.

Successful Hackathon teams commonly consist of designers, technologists, project managers, and content experts to showcase innovation for the betterment of local communities.

All submissions will be evaluated by experts, and winning teams have an opportunity to receive further training and funding for an upcoming international Hackathon at the end of 2022.