Vatican City, Mar 2, 2018 / 13:00 pm
A "hackathon" is a hacking marathon: a collaborative computer programming event in which a group works under a tight deadline to find software or programming approaches to real-world problems.
On March 8-11, the Vatican will host its first hackathon, VHacks. 120 young adult programmers, graphic designers, project managers, and others from around the world will spend 36 hours "hacking" together over the course of three days.
The Vatican hackathon aims to help leaders develop technological approaches to the needs of social inclusion, interfaith dialogue, and migrants and refugees.
Jakub Florkiewicz, co-chairman of VHacks and a student at Harvard Business School, told CNA via email that the hackathon's mission is "to inspire young people around the world to collaborate across divisions and to use technology to address social issues."