05 Jul Pharaon project was presented in the CASSINI Hackathon

Between 18 and 20 June 2021, the first edition of CASSINI Hackathons was held, an initiative of the European Commission that “seeks candidates to develop innovative solutions for green spaces through the use of spatial data, contributing to a more digital and sustainable Europe”. Cáritas Coimbra participated in this initiative contributing as coordinator of the Portuguese pilot of the Pharaon project, under the theme “Smart and friendly cities”.

The challenge was to develop “new products or services that digitize green spaces in Portugal, using spatial data from the European programmes Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS”. In this process, participants had the support of business experts and technicians from the Portuguese space community and should always be based on the three key objectives of the initiative: improving the quality of life in cities, helping citizens to have a healthy lifestyle, and protecting rural areas and the environment.

The initiative was carried out simultaneously in ten European countries: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Switzerland. In Portugal, the Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN) which coordinates ESA Space Solutions Portugal oversees the action, and has as partners the Portuguese Space Agency, Cáritas Diocesana de Coimbra, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra, the Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region and Coimbra Functional Fitness.

Cáritas Coimbra also presented some of the challenges that it faces in the Pharaon project, where it coordinates the Portuguese  Pilot, within the CASSINI themes “improving the quality of life in cities”, “helping citizens to have a healthy lifestyle” and “protecting rural areas and the environment” and for which participants will develop innovative solutions.

The top three places in the national competition will have access to an innovation and entrepreneurship course through a distance learning platform. The big winner will benefit from three months of free virtual incubation in the IPN and participate in a Demo Day with all European winners, with a final prize of 100 hours of mentoring. More information at:  https://hackathons.cassini.eu/portugal