iLab hosted the second annual Medial Hackathon in November 2018, bringing together more than a dozen media institutions from across Liberia.  The 2018 Hackathon introduced media businesses to a variety of apps and other tech tools, opportunities for monetizing media online, business strategies as well as pitching techniques for potential investors. The Hackathon’s primary objective was to improve Liberian media content and its viability as a source of sustainable revenue.

 

The first Media Hackathon was held in March 2017 at iLab’s co-working space and innovation hub, iCampus, and invited six media professionals, technology experts and civil society actors to examine the role of technology in elections media coverage and what tools could be customized to support each participating institution’s goals during and well-beyond Liberia’s 2017 presidential elections. This event introduced participants to a series of apps and tech-based solutions that have been or could be used to support elections-related reporting activities. 

 

Both Hackathons were made possible by USAID’s Liberia Media Development (LMD) project, and were co-designed and co-facilitated with Internews Liberia.