JEDDA: More than 2 million people visit Saudi Arabia each year to perform the sacred ritual of Hajj, creating challenges in transportation, crowd management and communication. In response, Saudi Arabia used hackathons and adopted innovative technological solutions to overcome these obstacles.
A hackathon is a collaborative event, usually a multi-day challenge, during which programmers, designers and project managers work intensively on software projects.
Participants, including Saudi women, take part in a hackathon in Jeddah on August 1, 2018, before the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. (photo in AFP file)
These events may focus on a variety of topics, such as developing new software, developing innovative solutions to specific problems, or exploring cutting-edge technologies. Participants form teams to brainstorm ideas, build prototypes, and create working software or hardware designs within a set time window.
Hackathons are commonly organized to foster creativity, innovation and teamwork, often leading to the creation of new products, services or tools.
The first-place team in the Hajj and Umrah Challenge won SR50,000 ($13,000) for their creative app titled: Makkah Story in 2023 (included)
In 2018, Jeddah hosted Hajj Hackathon, the largest hackathon in the Middle East, attended by thousands of developers and 18,000 enthusiasts. The event, organized by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of participants.
The first Hajj Hackathon in the region attracted top developers who developed innovative technical solutions, improving the pilgrim experience and supporting profitable projects. It reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to innovation, aimed at gaining regional and global technology leadership, supporting young talent and achieving the goals of Vision 2030.
QUICKFACTS
• The Historic and Enrichment Sites Hackathon held in April this year attracted around 700 participants from 15 cities across the Kingdom, with a panel of 12 judges, 16 trainers and 10 guides overseeing the innovative projects.
• The event included 20 training sessions, 6 educational trips, 10 lectures and 12 consulting sessions.
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, was then appointed ambassador of the Saudi TechHub platform.
Women take part in a hackathon in Jeddah on July 31, 2018, before the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. (photo in AFP file)
In the first season of Hajj Hackathon, Turjuman app took first place, winning the coveted prize pool of SR 1 million ($266,000). The application developed by a group of Saudi women enables the translation of signs and information boards around Mecca and holy places without the need to use the Internet. Hajj Wallet app took second place, winning SR 500,000, and Ru’ya app took third place, winning SR 350,000.
Turjuman helps pilgrims in their own languages, created by five Saudi women who share a common goal: Samaher Al-Hadhli, Raghda Qadhi, Bayan Al-Ghamdi, Rawan Al-Matrafi and Reham Marghalani.
By the next Hajj season in 2019, Turjuman has become a helpful tool supporting 10 languages - Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, French, Russian, Turkish and English – and with over 400 signboards spread across Mina, Muzdalifa, Arafat and Grand Mosque.
On July 31, 2018, before the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, people take part in a hackathon in Jeddah. (photo in AFP file)
During the difficult years of 2020 and 2021, the Kingdom relied heavily on modern technologies, especially in the face of the challenge of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 pilgrimage season was notable for extensive government action to prioritize pilgrim safety and limit the spread of the virus. The number of pilgrims was greatly reduced and limited to individuals in the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has introduced the Eatmarna app during this critical period. The app has simplified Umrah and visitation procedures in two years, during which 43,432,985 Umrah permits have been issued. Attracting users from 213 nationalities, it also enabled the issuance of 6,363,288 permits to pray at the Rawdah Sharifah at the Prophet’s Mosque.
In 2022, Eatmarna was replaced by Nusuk, making the process easier for pilgrims around the world, simplifying e-visa procedures and improving the pilgrim experience. Nusuk remains the main use for these purposes.
The impact of technological innovation on the cultural and spiritual aspects of the pilgrimage refers to how new technologies developed during hackathons impact pilgrims’ experiences. These innovations can improve various aspects of the hajj journey, such as improving security, providing better access to information, and facilitating smoother logistics.
Dania Moayad, an Iraqi pilgrim who performed the hajj in 2021, told Arab News: “Thanks to the Eatmarna app, my hajj was extremely smooth and efficient. He provided real-time updates, tips and necessary information that improved my overall experience.
Asia Ahmad, a pilgrim from Sudan who performed the hajj in 2021, said: “Eatmarna revolutionized the way I performed the hajj. It simplified complicated procedures, helped me navigate crowded places, and ensured I didn’t miss any important rituals. A truly modern miracle for pilgrims.”
As Covid-19 restrictions ease and pilgrims return to full capacity to perform their rituals by 2022, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in collaboration with the Guest of God Service Program, part of Saudi Vision 2030, launched the second Hajj Hackathon, which is called was renamed as the ‘Hajj and Umrah Challenge’ initiative. The event attracted 1,500 participants and its aim was to collect and implement creative ideas aimed at improving the pilgrim experience through innovative solutions.
The aim was to enable innovators and entrepreneurs to develop technological solutions to improve services for pilgrims. The challenge brought together 40 participants, both in person and remotely, across six tracks: crowd management, waste management, housing, catering, health and transport.
A jury of ministries and technical experts narrowed down the entries to 13 and then to 10 final ideas with a total prize amount of approximately SR150,000.
Participants took part in introductory meetings and workshops that helped solve key challenges. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah accepted five winning entries and turned them into business accelerators for real-world implementation.
The Ma’alam team from Mecca Girls’ Technical High School took first place in the challenge. Their app directed pilgrims to holy sites, with plans to expand services that guide tourists, citizens and residents to the Kingdom’s most important monuments.
The application introduces pilgrims to monuments by collecting information, transforming it into text, recording it as sound and mapping it to coordinates. Pilgrims receive voice notifications of landmarks based on their location, with the option of using language and voice comments.
The second Hajj and Umrah Challenge event was held in 2023 during the Hajj and Umrah Expo and was attended by 300 teams from around the world. The aim of this challenge was to develop technical designs to serve the pilgrims by bringing together developers and innovators to create solutions to the challenges faced by the Hajj and Umrah systems.
The focus was on providing innovative solutions in six tracks: providing information related to the pilgrimage journey, food and hospitality, services for disabled people, waste recycling, luggage transport and guiding the lost.
About 800 participants took part in the first stage, 11 teams qualified for the final stage, from which five winning teams were selected for their innovative ideas. Makkah Story won the first place prize of SR50,000.
Raghad Al-Shareef, leader of the team of three participants and a business administration graduate from Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, told Arab News: “The Makkah Story app focuses on highlighting the archaeological monuments and history of Mecca, as well as providing tourist tips for pilgrims and guests to provide them with enriching experiences.”
“We worked day and night for four days… the victory is indescribably amazing,” she said.
The second-place team, Mataie, won a prize of SR40,000, while the third-place team, Ehtiwa, which means “contains”, received a prize of SR30,000.
Team leader Jumana Al-Wafi, 22, also from Umm Al-Qura University, told Arab News: “Our idea is about the path of waste accumulation in holy places. We came up with the idea of using Haram cameras to support artificial intelligence by detecting waste on the streets or in containers by notifying the relevant authorities that Area A has 80% of landfills and action needs to be taken.”
In April this year, with the aim of enriching the cultural and religious experiences of pilgrims, Umm Al-Qura University and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah organized a Hackathon on Historic and Enriching Sites, a landmark event that attracted approximately 700 participants from 15 cities across the kingdom, with a panel of 12 judges, 16 trainers and 10 guides supervising innovative projects.
The event, which included 20 training courses, six educational tours, 10 lectures and 12 advisory sessions, showcased cutting-edge solutions to enhance the pilgrimage experience.
The winning designs were announced, with Project Guide winning first place for its innovative approach. The project “Development of the Al-Dira Mosque” took second place, and Maalim took third place in the design and creative thinking category.
In the enrichment, marketing and awareness track, Jawlaty came out on top, followed by Trahalkom in second place and Wasl in third place.
In the digitization of the historical heritage category, Ma’alem took the lead, with Nafezat Al-Haramain and DMaps taking second and third place, respectively.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah stressed the importance of the challenge of developing the digital capabilities of youth in the Kingdom by leveraging their capabilities and relying on their promising talents.