Helpific International: communication technology

HELPIFIC in Vunki Mano hackaton

1:06:00 PM

HELPIFIC praises Vunki Mano

hackaton in Võrumaa

First COSIE hackathon, held on the first weekend of October, was a great success! Even so that on Sunday, the last day of the hackathon, all participants were both exhausted, yet extremely happy and one could even say that positively surprised!

We in the Helpific´s team would like to thank everybody who took part in putting this event together!

In the picture are main organizers, Võrumaa Arenduskeskus, TLÜ and Helpific members

We would also like to thank the wonderful cooks on Vastseliina School, who filled the stomachs of the hard-working people with tasty food twice a day! Also an honorable mention to Vana-Võromaa Vegan Cafe, that offered all sorts of delicious snacks – vegan cheese sandwiches, all sorts of sweets etc and verdant fresh mint tea.

Vana-Võromaa Vegan delicious food

In the first hackathon in Vastseliina School we had 80 participants and ten highly motivated teams were put together.

Opening speach on first day

This time Helpific had three of our team representing us: Lauri Tikk, Mert Neşvat and Zsolt Bugarszki. Mert, our IT-support had also his good friend Gökhan Polat with him, who is also with IT-background and was a great help during the hackathon with his input.

Our guys were divided into two teams:

Lauri joined the NGO Meiela team, which consisted of a team of 10 people from different areas of work and together a potential project called TÜÜWÄRK was worked out to find simple jobs for people with special needs a bit easier. Also possibly to help them to find a bit more stable jobs on a platform that is created especially to find a solution to the growing issue of unemployment among the people with special needs in Võrumaa.

Team Meiela with solution TÜÜWÄRK

Mert and Zsolt joined a team with a bit different idea – Ökoküla, whose idea is to create an environment-friendly and efficient ecovillage in Võrumaa. Ökoküla project was called Wabaveere.

Team EkoKüla (Ecovillage) with solution Wabaveere

Although these projects seem to be very different from each other, both have a similar aim which also was the reason our Helpific team members decided to join them. Both TÜÜWÄRK and Wabaveere try to find ways how to create active and independent community using innovative ways to accomplish that. It´s exactly what we do here in Helpific!

The co-operation with these two teams has just begun but we are extremely happy that Helpific can be a part of such great future-oriented projects.

But now – vunki mano!

Helpific tour | Social inclusion of people with mental health disorder

11:07:00 AM

Helpific tour "Beyond borders"

Promoting social inclusion of the people with mental health disorder with the help of information and communication technology and popularising volunteering in local communities.

Helpific has a tour in three Estonian cities (Haapsalu, Tallinn, Tartu) in August to present the idea how information and communication technology can help people with mental health disorder and improve awareness of people who aren’t volunteering yet. During the tour you can meet employers, public sector institutions and disabled people’s organisation representatives as well as Helpific web platform users. There will be discussions and seminars on burning topics and possibility to put your skills and abilities to the test at interactive area.

At the interactive area all the visitors can try obstacles that seem to be impossible but what disabled people must face every day, for example you can pass a wheelchair obstacle course, open a candy paper with boxing gloves and see the technological equipment that enables blind people to surf in social networks. During the tour a special project will be carried out where installations are placed in cityscape as six young persons with disabilities are the artistic heroes – Merlin, Maris, Jakob, Merilyn, Oliver and Katariina. Not with standing the disability they are all very positive individuals with different interests and knowledge, whom helped by the volunteers can live more valuable life.

Installation "Life Without Borders"

We wish to improve awareness of local communities to prevent stigmatic attitude and discriminating treatment towards disabled people and to encourage communities to recognize disabled people as individuals who are no different from fellow citizens. So the main focus of the tour are the people with mental health disorder who are one of the risk groups in labour market not for their disabilities but further because of misconceptions and false beliefs about mental health problems. At the same time so called worries and joys of people with physical disabilities won’t be without attention either. Helpific wants to show that community’s caring attitude and simplicity of helping each other are these keywords that enable disabled people to apply their skills, knowledge and abilities entirely and live their life beyond borders.

You can take part in Helpific tour at White Lady festival on August 28th in Haapsalu, in Tallinn during the New World Streetfestival and at Tartu Autumn Days 2015 on October 16th. When integrating social thinking and innovation it possible to improve social attitude towards disabled people, involve disabled people or volunteers to develop more caring communities and create possibilities to integrate disabled people into society.

Partners of Helpific tour are Junior Chamber International Estonia JCI (installations), Tallinn Mental Health Center, Tallinn University and Arcada University of Applied Sciences. Tour is funded by the Council of Gambling Tax.

beyond borders communication technology communities English Helpific tour information technology mental health disorder social inclusion volunteering

HELPIFIC in Vunki Mano hackaton

HELPIFIC praises Vunki Mano

hackaton in Võrumaa

Helpific tour | Social inclusion of people with mental health disorder