A Migrahack is a hackathon about migration.
It’s a two-day un–conference that brings together members of the communities most affected by immigration with journalists, developers, data scientists and students. Together, participants form teams and work together for several hours to analyze big data sets on migration and immigration. Working with that data, they jointly generate original story ideas and produce multimedia stories – videos, data visualizations, podcasts and the like – that can be shared widely.
Participation in the Migrahack provides students with a keystone experience that moves beyond the traditional educational model to include the multi-disciplinary, student-centered application of knowledge to address a key problem in society. Additionally, DU student participants receive $100. Learn more.
What happened at the Colorado Migrahack?
| Day 1 | Friday, Sept. 27 2019 | |
| 7:45 a.m. | Doors open, Estlow Center Anvil of Freedom breakfast begins | Anderson Academic Commons, Room 290 |
| 8:30-9:45 a.m. | Breakfast, Migrahack kickoff with Cindy Carcamo | AAC Rm 290 |
| 10 a.m. | Intro to the hackathon process | AAC Rm 290 |
| 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Project brainstorming OR FOIA workshop | AAC Rm 290 OR AAC Rm 301 |
| 12:30 p.m. | Lunch | AAC Rm 290 |
| 12:30-4 p.m. | Breakout sessions | AAC Rm 290 |
| 4-6 p.m. | Community roundtable | AAC Rm 290 |
| 6-9:45 p.m. | Opt. project time | AAC Rm 290 |
| Day 2 | Saturday, Sept. 28 | |
| 7 a.m. | Doors open, breakfast begins | Sturm Hall, Room 286 |
| 9 a.m. | Reconvene in the AAC | AAC Rm 290 |
| 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | Team breakout sessions | AAC Rm 290 |
| 12-1 p.m. | Lunch | AAC Rm 290 |
| 1-4:30 p.m. | Teams finalize projects | AAC Rm 290 |
| 5-7 p.m. | Closing ceremonies, conversation with Chef and Historian Adán Medrano | Tuscan Ballroom |
What will happen with the stories, information and materials created and curated by the Migrahack teams?
Several Colorado media outlets have expressed interest in or are already planning to have reporters involved in the event, including the Colorado Independent, the Colorado Sun, Colorado Public Radio, High Country News, Rocky Mountain PBS, Telemundo and others. Additionally, some Migrahack teams will focus specifically on the information needs of new arrivals to Colorado and the organizations that serve them, providing website design and social media support. We aim to collectively decide on a “day on migration” for a simultaneous release of all of the stories to the public.
What kinds of things will be produced?
We’re aiming for some really good, Colorado-specific multimedia journalistic stories.
We’re also hoping that community organizations will have support in their own efforts to share their information.
And we’re open to other modes of storytelling, like performances, digital art, skits, music: anything that uses evidence and data to help tell stories that increase understanding about immigration.
See projects created at other Migrahack events nationwide on our Resources page.
Who gets what out of this?
DU student and community participants will each receive $100 upon completion and presentation of their team’s project. Find out more on our FAQ page.
Who else benefits?
The Colorado community benefits from enhanced, rich storytelling about immigration and migration that could not have happened without the cooperation of many partners.
Students, developers and community members benefit from opportunities to work directly with community members affected by and working in relation to immigration issues in a rewarding project-based experience.
Recent immigrants to Colorado and those who work with and care about the concerns of these groups benefit from having a platform to tell their stories.
Community organizations benefit from opportunities to facilitate relationships and enhanced understanding between journalists, community members and the university community. They may also have specific communication needs addressed at the event.
Journalists benefit from opportunities to develop deep stories in collaboration with the communities they serve and with the support of fellow journalists, developers, data scientists and many others.
Who’s involved?
The Colorado Migrahack brings together a wide range of people from partnerships with the following groups.
Community organizations
- Casa de Paz
- The Latino Leadership Institute
- The Bridge Project
Journalism organizations
Several Colorado media outlets have expressed interest in or are planning to have reporters involved, including the Colorado Independent, the Colorado Sun, Colorado Public Radio, High Country News, Rocky Mountain PBS, Telemundo and others.
Other Colorado universities
- Colorado State University’s student media groups
- University of Colorado at Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI)
- University of Colorado at Denver’s communication department
- Metropolitan State University’s digital media program
University of Denver partners
See our full list of University of Denver partners on our Sponsors page.
Is this the first-ever Migrahack?
It’s a first for Colorado, but we are grateful to Journalist Claudia Nunez for originating the idea of the Migrahack. She has been a leader in organizing many such events and has been long making a compelling argument about harnessing the power of data to turn challenges into successes. Watch her “Knight Talk” about this:
We’re also grateful to University of Arizona Professor Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, organizer of the Arizona Migrahack, who has served as a consultant for the Colorado Migrahack.
The Colorado Migrahack Fund
Click Donate to sponsor a student and to help us continue offering events like this in the future.