🧡 WHEN: Hackathon 1st May / Pitches 2nd May
🧡 WHERE: Online
🧡 PRICE: €40,- / Students: €20,-
🧡 TICKETS: Here!
🧡 MORE: hack.touchyfeely.tech

What: Rainbows End Sex Tech Hackathon is series of online events organised by by Creative Coding Utrecht, Touchy-Feely Tech and Hervisions as part of the Rainbows End online festival. Through a program of talks, workshops and a weekend-long Hackathon, we will explore technology's impact on sexuality and human behaviour by addressing the past, present, and future of the Sex Tech industry.

When:
Thursday April 29: 7-9pm CET: Networking event for Hackathon ticket holders
Friday April 30th, 8-10pm CET: Sex Tech Talk Show
Saturday May 1st and Sunday May 2nd, 2021 10:30am - 18:30pm CET: ⭐The Hackathon⭐

Cost: €40,- / Students: €20,-

Who is it for?: We invite artists, academics, activists, thinkers and tinkerers from all backgrounds and perspectives to take part. No previous experience necessary!

For general questions about the event and preparation: [email protected]

Get your tickets here!

[ x ] Join the Touchy-Feely Tech Discord Server
[ x ] Agree to our Code of Conduct
[ x ] Save the dates of our pre-event networking evening on Thursday the 29th of April and the Sex Tech Talk Show on Friday the 30th.
[ x ] Read through this page to familiarise yourself with the event's flow and structure
[ x ] Order any tools or materials you might like to use ahead of time

It's fine to create a solo project, but we want to provide a setting that encourages teamwork and a fruitful exchange of ideas.

In addition to the networking event on the 29th, we have created a Discord channel for introductions and finding a team. When you purchase a ticket, you will be invited to the Discord server (let us know if you haven't been added yet). Feel free to introduce yourself there to get to know other attendees ahead of time.

Day 1: After introducing the event and its challenges, we will provide opportunities to mingle and form teams. The rest of the day will be split up into three “sprints”, with talks and breaks scheduled throughout. The sprints will be guided by mentors with experience of previous Sex Tech Hackathons, and are there to support your idea generation, prototyping, and pitch building activities.

Day 2: Time for working on projects followed by an afternoon pitch session in front of a judging panel. There are prizes to be won!

Aside from our sprint sessions, we have lined up a bunch of opportunities to learn about the Sex Tech industry and the skills you need to get started as a Sex Tech Maker!

Talks:
History of Sex Tech with Oli Lipski
Getting a job in Sex Tech Q&A with Bryony Cole (futureofsex.org)
Sex Tech Trends & Pitching Tips with Lex Gillon (Modality Group)

Workshops & Demos:
Intro to Open Source / DIY Sex Tech + Tear-down with Kinky Makers and Research + Desire
Silicone Casting for Sex Tech with Laura Lytle (Inside Sex Toys)
Making and Coding for Intimate Technologies with Arnab Chakravarty

As this is a remote event with both beginners and seasoned Hackers attending, we understand that some people will have limited access to skills or resources. We are therefore ensuring the judging criteria reflects this, and welcome all sorts of interpretations of our challenges. Here are a range of examples of what a project could be:

• A drawing
• A plan
• A toolkit of ideas
• A collage of images and icons
• A no-code website or app (see our no-code platform examples here)
• A miniature prototype using clay
• A simple circuit

The Hackathon invites participants to conceptualise and/or build projects that respond to our proposed challenges: FAIR FUTURES, SEXUAL HEALTH = HEALTH and DREAM DEVICES.

As the Sex Tech industry grows, how can we make sure its offerings are accessible to and representative of the wide spectrum of different bodies, identities, imaginations, backgrounds, cultures and contexts that exist here on Earth? How might we develop and distribute tools, experiences or education that actively serve the underserved, and help to destigmatize, decolonize or depatriarchalize the tech industry? This track is focused on the importance of user-centered design in the development of Sex Tech.

Recent studies have shown us that sexual health is a reliable barometer for overall health (did you know that someone tracked their recovery from a brain injury with their smart vibrator?). Focusing on pleasure and intimacy is a powerful way to improve our understanding of the complex link between our body and mind. Can sex or intimate technologies be practical or educational tools for self-literacy, self-regulation or self-care? This track is focused on the meaningful purpose of Sex Tech and its therapeutic potential.

As technology becomes smarter, more powerful and increasingly closer to our bodies, how (or when) might Sex Tech become a way to extend, augment or enhance the human body and mind beyond limits? How might Sex Tech play a part in breaking convention around what it is to be human, what it is to be sexual, what it is to be "present", and address the historic and cultural shifts that face us on the horizon? This track seeks to speculate on the evolution of Sex Tech into the not-so-distant future.

Feel free to contact [email protected] with any questions about sourcing your own materials. Whether you want to get physical, digital, or both, here are some prototyping tools to try:

Rainbows End 🌈🌈🌈 is made possible by Gemeente Utrecht, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, Mondriaan Fonds, VSBFonds, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds, Stichting Fentener van Vlissingen Fonds, and Pictoright Fonds.