The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, alongside public and private partners, launches a community‑driven hackathon to develop tech solutions for Masjid al‑Haram and the surrounding holy precinct under Vision 2030.
This event encourages local innovators to develop helpful digital tools and AI projects for the millions of daily visitors and residents of Masjid al‑Haram.
The challenge is divided into four areas:
- Urban Planning: Teams propose data‑driven mapping and crowd‑flow models that streamline expansion and maintenance of the Masjid al‑Haram complex without disrupting worship.
- Sustainability: Ideas focus on reducing water and energy use around the Grand Mosque, promoting eco‑friendly practices that respect the site’s sacred status.
- Transportation: Entrants develop real‑time apps and routing systems to ease pilgrim travel between hotels, the Grand Mosque, and nearby holy landmarks.
- Hospitality: Projects aim to elevate services inside and around Masjid al‑Haram—everything from digital guide platforms to multilingual assistance bots.
Participants will receive coaching, technical support, and seed funding from a coalition of government agencies and private sponsors.
Source: islamicinfo
Winning prototypes will be fast‑tracked for pilot testing in the Grand Mosque precinct, ensuring that promising solutions benefit pilgrims as soon as possible.
The hackathon marks a first in crowd‑sourced tech for Masjid al‑Haram.
FAQs
Who can join the hackathon?
Any Saudi resident or student with tech or design skills may form a team and enter one of the four challenge areas.
What support do finalists receive?
Finalists gain access to mentorship, workspace, cloud services, and up to SAR 100,000 in seed funding for pilot projects in the Masjid al‑Haram area.
How will winning solutions be used?
Selected prototypes will be tested on site in the Grand Mosque precinct, with feedback from pilgrims guiding refinements before broader rollout.
