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by jo_ 4341 days ago
I believe http://codeforamerica.org/ exists for exactly this purpose. It matches techies with their local governments to improve things.
2 comments

Hey Jo!

Exactly what I'm thinking about, thank you very much for that link! Hmm, this makes me think why http://codefordenmark.org/ or maybe http://hackdanmark.org doesn't exist yet. I've attended several of these hackathons.

I like those a lot, though there's a recurring issue that they only happen periodically. What I'd love to see is a continuous stream of public problems that we who have the skills can just jump on and off whenever we have the time.

We do have some initiatives that connect "everyone with everyone's problems", but those are more aimed at crowdsourcing ideas for solving social issues and I rarely see local governments take much interest in posting a list of issues they'd like help for.

Again, thank you so much!

- Anders

Is there an equivalent program in Denmark or elsewhere in Europe?
Hmm, codefordenmark does not seem to be used by anyone, so maybe the concept hasn't reached us (yet!). :-)

There are a bunch of local hackathon events, like "Hack Aarhus" etc., but in my opinion it would be cool to help out whenever you had the time and not only at events (and not involving prizes and competition, which many of these events do prefer).

There is a "Code For Ireland" http://www.codeforireland.com/ - I imagine there are similar groups in other parts of Europe!
Hey Duggan!

Thanks for the link. :-) It's nice to see that these initiatives also exist in Europe. In addition to the above, this really makes me think "Why the hell is there not something like this in Denmark?".