On 18 July 2020, SOCIALHACK – an online youth hackathon aimed at developing a mobile app for people with special needs – wrapped up in Nur-Sultan. Applications were accepted starting 30 June, and more than 205 young people registered for the hackathon in just two weeks. SOCIALHACK was a 48-hour online marathon, where 34 teams from all over the country worked to develop an app prototype for people with special needs.

The participants faced a challenging task, as the app had to assess the infrastructure in residences and frequently visited spaces to identify wheelchair-accessible places that can facilitate the everyday activities of people with special needs.

The project was initiated by EY, organized by EY and NURIS (the Innovation Cluster of Nazarbayev University), and supported by the international Astana Hub and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Kazakhstan. BTS Digital, suraqtar.kz and EY sponsored the project.

The winner was the Glide team, consisting of Rakishev Akezhan, Yusupov Temirzhan, and Madyshev Ulan, students in their first and second years at Nazarbayev University. The winners received cash prizes and were invited to join a digital company as interns to take part in developing the app prototype. The app will subsequently be handed over to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Kazakhstan.