The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce this year’s Zoohackathon global winning solution is BioUp from Brazil. The second-place winning solution is ARTEMIS from the Philippines, while DangerZoone from Vietnam took third place.
Zoohackathon is a global competition coordinated by the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs that unites university students, coders, wildlife experts, and members of the public, to create innovative technology solutions to combat wildlife trafficking challenges. This year’s fifth annual competition was all virtual, and one single country and four regional events took place around the world from November 6-8. Nearly 700 participants from 53 countries competing as teams online generated more than 60 innovative technology solutions that can help bolster on-the-ground efforts to fight the scourge of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking threatens national security, undermines the rule of law, robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods, and pushes species to the brink of extinction. Technology and innovation are key to tackling this crime.
The BioUp app for enforcement officials uses blockchain technology to verify whether animals come from legal breeding sites based on a license or band number.
ARTEMIS is an automated and real-time endangered species monitoring tool that collects data on illegal online wildlife trading from social media platforms.
DangerZoone is a web app that accesses a digitized database of the wildlife and conservation laws in Vietnam to help enforcement officials assess penalties.
Thanks to the generous contributions of the Zoohackathon 2020 global partners — Microsoft’s AI for Earth Program , TechSoup , and Vulcan Inc. — 2020 winning teams will receive support to continue to develop their combating wildlife trafficking solutions.
Congratulations to the 2020 winners!
For more information about Zoohackathon, visit www.zoohackathon.com or contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.