Why this Code for Philly hackathon is laser-focused on North Philly

QUEST, a cinema-verité-styled documentary shot over the course of a decade in North Philly, is hoping to transcend the screen.

The QUEST Community Engagement Project, in partnership with Resolve Philadelphia and Code for Philly, will spend two days meeting with North Philly residents and building tech tools to help with the area’s most pressing challenges. The event, titled #QUESTHacks, kicks off this Friday Nov. 2 at North Philly’s Church of the Advocate.

“We’re bringing together technologists, community partners, activists, journalists, and neighbors for a two days of problem-solving and creating solutions to community-based problems with the help of data, design, and technology,” said Code for Philly’s co-director Toni McIntyre, in a blog post.

Per Code for Philly advisor (and former executive director) Dawn McDougall, the event is one part of a broader outreach campaign by the QUEST Community Engagement Project.

“Essentially the goal is to get people together to work on projects that help residents in North Philly rethink about how community issues can be addressed,” McDougall said. “This is a starting point for long-term collaboration.”

Similar to Code for Philly’s previous work in partnership with Resolve Philadelphia on the subject of reentry, #QUESTHacks will take a community-based approach, partnering with organizations already doing work in the community.

Here’s more via our sister site Generocity.