Coders Assemble! Let's code to save the "World". IBM's call for code initiative
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Coders Assemble! Let’s code to save the “World”. IBM’s call for code initiative

More than a century since the discovery of the first light bulb and more than three decades since Robert Zemeckis put Marty McFly in a time machine creating one of the most iconic and contemporary movies of its time, the world continues to find solutions for most of its problems in technological innovations.

Call for Code is an IBM initiative which calls upon developers, visionaries, and problem-solvers to share their ideas, concepts, and solutions through codes which can support the planet’s ability to cope with humanitarian issues, climate change, and unprecedented global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose of the Call for Code Initiative

This multi-year global initiative, which challenges every thinker and coder to contribute towards solving global issues, chose two major global challenges for the Call for Code 2020 challenge.

  • Climate change
  • COVID-19

United Nations Human Rights is a Call for Code Charitable Partner. As a part of the United Nation’s 75th Anniversary, the Call for Code Global Challenge asks developers, data scientists, and subject matter experts to identify and ideate solutions which can reverse, or eradicate the effects of climate change experienced by the planet.

Additionally, the onset of COVID-19 lay bare the truth of a system which cannot handle a pandemic of this level. As a result, the challenge included COVID-19 because of the extent of risk that the pandemic poses for the planet.

Why should you participate in the Call for Code campaign?

Winners of the challenge along with four runners up will receive support from the Linux Foundation in order to build their solution as an Apache 2 Licensed open-source project. They will be able to build a community around it and ensure that the app is freely deployable anywhere in the world so that it can effectively address the problem it aims to solve.

Through your contributions, you can transform the world into a better place and enable millions of people to lead lives of a better quality.

You also get to work closely with the ecosystem partners who can launch your career as a developer on a global scale, helping you gain access to tools and resources which can greatly improve the project you are working on.

Prizes for winning teams are:

Grand Prize – $200,000 USD along with solution implementation through Code and Response and opportunity for mentorship and investment in the solution.

First and Second Runner Up – $25,000 USD

Third and Fourth Runner Up – $10,000 USD

How can you participate and contribute to this initiative?

Developers can participate in this initiative by submitting their work through on the Call for Code official website. Participants must agree to the Participation Agreement on submission of their solutions. The agreement provides all information required to understand the eligibility of participants and the terms of submission. You can form teams of up to 5 members for submitting your solution. If you are looking for team members, then the Call for Code Slack community can be a helpful place.

Mentors in the community can also direct you to technical resources and help you with general questions related to the Call for Code challenge.

Your contribution towards this initiative will be judged on several criteria including the completeness of your vision and the roadmap which helps in achieving it.

IBM technologies available for building solutions and applications

IBM provides starter kits for participants for COVID-19 and for climate change. These starter kits can be accessed through the official Call for Code website.

The starter kits for climate change are available for the following categories:

  • Water sustainability – This starter kit helps you understand how farmers can be helped with better harvests by using hyper-localized weather data to build robust crop strategies and optimize water usage.
  • Energy sustainability – It provides the framework for a global product labeling system which includes a Climate Impact Rating so that consumers and retailers can be aware of the impact a product has on the planet. You can build out from this framework using your ideas for a solution that increases the goal of energy sustainability.
  • Disaster resiliency – The starter kit provides you with a template on which you can start building your solution quickly. It is integrated with Watson Assistant and HERE Technologies’ Location Services to reduce the time spent in putting these together.

Starter kits for COVID 19 are available for the following categories:

  • Crisis communication
  • Remote education
  • Community cooperation

Additional resources are available in the form of data sets and blog posts to help you ideate and innovate relevant solutions.

How does it benefit society?

Call for Code, in its very essence, is a humanitarian initiative which deserves attention from visionaries around the world. Climate change is a burgeoning problem. The world does not have any effective solution to significantly reduce or reverse the effects of climate change. Communities around the world suffer its impacts as receding shorelines, more hurricanes, cyclones, and natural calamities become frequent year after year.

Presently the odds are against us.

If you have a solution, an idea or a concept that can be put to work so that tables are turned and climate change is reversed, then you will be changing the fate of the society and building a more secure future for the planet.

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