Young Emiratis, Israelis join first Abraham Accords virtual hackathon

Young Emiratis recently joined youths from Israel, Bahrain and Morocco in a first-of-its-kind virtual social hackaton on entrepreneurship.

The three-day hackathon was the first such event to be organised since the signing of the Abraham Accords. It addressed challenges that the region is expected face post Covid-19, with a particular focus on business and entrepreneurship, education and tourism.

Bringing together young entrepreneurs from across the region, the event hosted lectures and workshops that featured leading Emirati and Israeli businesspeople. The youth were encouraged to present initiatives and work plans that propose solutions to future challenges.

“The Middle East is changing. The hunger for cooperation is huge, and the best channel for it is the technology that builds bridges and partnerships. Young leadership emanating from young entrepreneurs is a key driver for promoting true normalisation between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and other countries. These initiatives give both hope and opportunities for new creative ideas to bring people together and create a genuinely new chapter for our region,” said Dr Erel Margalit, founder and executive chairman of JVP and Margalit Startup City.

The virtual event was organised by Israel-is, an image-building establishment; in collaboration with JVP, an internationally renowned VC fund; the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation; and the Start-Up Nation Central.

“The Abraham Accords opened a whole world of opportunities for building bridges of peace and innovation. This hackathon brings together the promise of the new Middle East - the younger generation who are the leaders of tomorrow,” said Chemi Peres, chairman of the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com