---
title: The Art of Organizing a Community Hackathon
osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/conferences/seagl2023/program/proposals/993
beginning: '2023-11-03T16:40:00.000-07:00'
end: '2023-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:00'
resources:
  internet_archive_identifier: SeaGL2023-The_Art_of_Organizing_a_Community_Hackathon
presenters:
- name: Christina Zhu
  affiliation: Amazon
  osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/users/754
  gravatar_id: 578c21f2b8f8f75016214705c32756ce
  biography: Christina is a Senior Developer Advocate, a hackNY Fellow, a mentor at
    Girls Who Code, and the Co-Founder of HackDavis. She has previously worked in
    Developer Experience at Square and at Amazon and has been awarded with the F8
    Scholarship by Facebook, Grace Hopper Scholar by Anita Borg Institute, and the
    Engineering Diversity Scholar by Box, among others. In the future, she plans on
    speaking at as many conferences as possible, and advocating for mental health
    in the tech field!
---

Hackathons have emerged as powerful catalysts for community engagement and collaboration, especially within the realm of open-source software development. These events bring together developers from diverse backgrounds, united by a shared passion for technology and a desire to create something that might change the world for the better. By hosting a hackathon for your local open-source community, you not only provide a platform for talent to showcase their skills, but also foster a sense of belonging and collective purpose. Hackathons encourage creativity, knowledge sharing, and enable participants to focus on the joy of coding while in a supportive and fun environment. At the end of the day, hackathons are a great place to meet new lifelong friends while getting to learn the latest and greatest in technology.

In this tech talk, I'll share my previous experience as the co-founder of HackDavis (UC Davis's major collegiate hackathon), as well as my involvement in more corporate hackathons that I've hosted during my time at Amazon and Square. I'll go over key elements of a great hackathon, such as sponsorship, mentorship, finding a venue, organizing workshops, and how to create an inclusive judging process. I'll go over local open source hackathons that you can participate in as well, such as Google Summer of Code and Hacktoberfest. By the end of the talk, you'll be able to spin one up in your local community back home, or attend one yourself!
