Mozilla’s fifth-annual Global Sprint is May 10 and 11. Open-source engineers and activists around the globe will swap code and ideas to make the internet a healthier place

A decentralized alternative to today’s social media platforms. A community-built air quality monitor to thwart pollution in Buenos Aires. An open-source investigative tool for journalists in Hungary.

These are just three of nearly 150 projects from 24 countries participating in the 2018 Global Sprint, Mozilla’s fifth-annual distributed hackathon. Each year, coders, scientists, artists and activists gather online and in person for 48 hours to collaborate on open-source projects. This year’s Global Sprint is happening Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11.

“The Global Sprint is a way for the open-source community to swap code and ideas and energize their latest projects,” says Zannah Marsh, Mozilla’s Learning Strategist who helps lead the hackathon. “But the Sprint has a bigger mission, too. It introduces more people to the value of open-source approaches. And so many of the people and projects participating address the biggest issues online today — erosion of privacy, centralization of power, disenfranchisement. In the Sprint’s 48 hours, solutions to these issues take a big step forward.”

Here’s a snapshot of some of the projects, people, and places participating:

In Accra, Ghana, Yannick-Noël Aka is rallying coders from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire to participate. Learn more»

In Portland, OR, neuroscientists and civic hackers are working shoulder-to-shoulder on issues like disaster resilience and open protocols. Learn more»

Parliamentary Debates Open is seeking coders and designers to further expand the tool, a resource for investigative journalists in Hungary. Learn more»

The Commons Platform is seeking feedback on its model, a decentralized and cooperatively-owned social media destination. Learn more»

Want to participate in the Global Sprint? View all projects, and browse all sites. See you there!