My first ever Hackathon - what an enjoyable and motivating experience

This intergenerational hackathon was focused on travel with the 'Hackers' looking to create and design ideas that make travel universally efficient for all ages.

I was only able to attend the second day and was one of the five judges (I am the one on the far right, next to the lady, with the microphone, from Google).

The event was organised by the Aging2.0 and hosted by Google.

Nine teams presented their ideas. Some were good, some were very good and a couple were excellent. Twitter hashtag #AgelessTravel will give you a feel of the event.

What I found so uplifting about the event was the raw enthusiasm for the subject and the energy of the young people who were pitching. What a contrast to the stultifying grey and boring activities that I so often encounter in the ageing business.

This event confirmed yet again that change and new ideas are most likely to come from the entrepreneurial energy of new businesses rather than the plodding of the multi-brand-multinational, let alone the mind-boggling plodding response of government.

Well done Aging2.0. Well done Google. And above all, well done the teams that were pitching. Dick Stroud