25 young Jewish tech leaders working for such companies as Google, Facebook, and Twitter and studying at such institutions as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford have been touring Israel, the “Startup Nation,” as part of Taglit Tech Challenge, a partnership between The Jewish Agency for Israel and Taglit-Birthright Israel.

The program marks the launch of Israel Tech Challenge, a new Jewish Agency initiative that will seek to introduce young tech leaders to Israel through short-term visits, prestigious internships, and mentorships with leading figures in the Israeli tech community.

The participants have been engaged in an intensive 36-hour hackathon aimed at generating innovative solutions to both large-scale and individual challenges. Projects include a cane for blind people that contains sensors to make users more aware of their surroundings, a user-generated map to be used by the Municipality of Jerusalem to collect reports from residents at times of crisis, and an app that will “punish” users for excessive time spent on Facebook with an automatic charitable donation.

The conclusion event began on Tuesday 28 Teves 5774 at 5:00 PM at which time they presented their projects before a panel of esteemed judges who are leading figures in the Israeli tech scene. Taking part in the event was Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Natan Sharansky, Taglit-Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark, and leaders from Israel’s tech community.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)