TEMPO.CO, Vienna - Team Tempo from Indonesia became the world`s champion in a hackathon media competition event held by the association of Global Editors Network (GEN) at Vienna, Austria, June 17, 2016. In the event called the "World Cup of Newsroom Innovation", Tempo defeated other 15 countries which were also participating.
"Outstanding, Tempo has made a fantastic result from the challenge given by our committee," said Sarah Toproff from the Global Editors Network.
At the Final Round, team Tempo stood first place along with three other hackathon finalists. They are team Caixin Vislab China, RTV Slovakia, and Austria Press Agentur (APA).
The Hackathon event was participated by 15 countries. Tempo was the only representative from the South East Asia. The participants were asked to made a newsgame prototype, an application that combines a game and journalisme, in only 48-hour time. Eventhough it was only a game, the participants must not lose focus of the news-making.
The juries for this event were Cherisse Datu from the American University, who is also a contributor of The Undefeated ESPN; Programme Director GEN, Evangeline de Bourgoing; CEO of News Deeply, Lara Setrakian; Deputy Editor of ESPN, Latoya Peterson; and CEO of Rappler, Maria Ressa.
The team Tempo members consisted of Wahyu Dhyatmika, William Rince, and Muhammad Adam Firdaus. The team created a game named Green Saviour: Stop the Haze that was inspired by the widespread forest fires that swept through large areas of the Indonesian landscape in 2015. They designed a game aimed at explaining the causes of a forest fire and their possible prevension measures, and showing what is at stake when one of them is inevitably unleashed. The game prompts users to extinguish the forest fires that quickly spring up in a different zones of the country, and it seeks to target young city dwellers who may not be very acquainted with the severity of fires in more rural areas of the country.
"In our game, the fire will only be extinguished completely if the fire starters were to be put in jail and restoring the peatland that was on fire before," said Wahyu via a text message yesterday.
Coming in second place, the Austrian team from APA created Welfare Simulator, a prototype that corresponds directly with the ongoing debate surrounding the current welfare system that is in place in Austria.
The teams from RTVS (Slovakia) and Caixin Media (China) tied in third place. The prototype developed by RTVS, What would You Take?, provided an intimate look into the story of refugees who have had to abruptly abandon their homes in war-torn regions. Meanwhile, the team from Caixin Media, developed Think Like a Mayor, a game showcasing the economic, social and political complexities that underlie China`s pollution crisis.
The juries decided that these four teams made it into the podium with surprisingly well done results from a difficult challenge that was given. "Congratulations to APA, Tempo, RTVS, and Caixin," said a committee when handing over the trophies.
Previously, team Tempo also did win at the first Hackathon Editors Lab that was held in Indonesia last May. The event was held by GEN which partnered with the Ethical Journalist Network and the Press Council. Tempo defeated other nine competitors in a race of innovative news-making with the theme "Mobile First News" by creating a Screen News app.
GABRIEL WAHYU TITIYOGA | BS