"Mine the Block" Minecraft Hackathon announced as part of annual Imagine Africatown Design Weekend

Africatown partners with University of Washington College of Built Environments and Washington Hall to host 1st “MineTheBlock” Minecraft Hackathon as a part of the 2nd Annual Imagine Africatown Design Weekend

Seattle, WA - The first ever “MineTheBlock” Minecraft Hackathon will be held as part of the second annual Imagine Africatown Design Weekend. The purpose of the event is to leverage the popular youth interest in the game Minecraft to expose youth to career paths in design, architecture, technology and community development.

The purpose of the event is to:

● Include youth in our belief that we must design with the community, rather than design for the community

● Introduce youth of color, often underrepresented in STEAM fields, to the world of design and technology via both unconventional and traditional means and thereby redefine who can be designers, engineers, programmers in the future

● Increase awareness and engagement with the work of the various organizations involved with preserving and developing the presence of the Black African descent community in Seattle.

“MineTheBlock” will be a two day event. University of Washington College of Built Environments will host the first day, Friday August 9th from 9:00am to 9:00pm. Throughout the first day, participants will build in Minecraft, learn traditional architecture techniques such as drawing plans and elevations, and interact with design students and design professionals at one of Seattle’s top design schools. The evening will close with a screening of Marvel’s Black Panther to inspire youth to imagine all the possibilities for the future of the Central District. On Saturday at Washington Hall, participants will present their designs to the community. In the afternoon, the youth will incorporate what they learned from the Hackathon in the Design Cypher—which will also include model building.

The event is supported by Young Geniuses, Africatown Community Land Trust, Africatown Preservation & Development Association, Africatown Center for Education & Innovation, Umoja Peace Center, and University of Washington College of Built Environments and the City of Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development.

Schedule overview:

Friday August 9th

9:00am Reception & Check-in

9:30am Hackathon Morning Session

12:30pm Lunch Break

2:00pm Hackathon Afternoon Session

5:00pm Award Ceremony

5:30pm Dinner Break

6:30pm Black Panther Screening

Saturday August 10th

10:00am Hackathon Presentations & Guest Speakers

12:00pm Lunch Break

2:00pm Design Cipher with Community & Hackathon Youth Participants

5:00pm Celebration Community Potluck

About Africatown Community Land Trust

Africatown Community Land Trust is working for community ownership of land in the Central District that can support the cultural and economic thriving of people who are part of the African diaspora in the Greater Seattle region. www.africatownlandtrust.orgwww.africatownlandtrust.org

About Africatown Central District Preservation & Development Association

The mission of the Africatown- Central District Preservation & Development Association (ACDPDA) is focused planning and placemaking and community economic development initiatives including Black Dot business incubator and co-working space.

About Africatown Center for Education & Innovation

The mission of the Africatown Center for Education & Innovation is to cultivate and promote innovative education enhancement and community development solutions focusing on people of African descent. www.aAfricatowncenter.org .

About UmojaFest Peace Center

The mission of the Umoja PEACE Center is to inspire and empower youth through Positive Education, Art, Culture & Enterprise (P.E.A.C.E.). For more information visit www.umojapeacecenter.com.

About University of Washington College of Built Environments

At the University of Washington College of Built Environments (CBE) we value the traditions of design and community building. We do this with a conscious perspective of positively advancing social and technological change. Our unique gathering of disciplines—architecture, construction management, landscape architecture, real estate, and urban design and planning—provides a unique advantage and enables the College to truly define and excel in all areas of built environments. We believe in programs that meet the complex interconnected physical, cultural, and ecological systems in which we live, work and play.