Woman felt ‘misled’ by local hackathon event
On Monday (15 June), a TikTok user said she felt her weekend had been “wasted” after joining a local hackathon.
Her video showed other participants writing their answers on paper, despite hackathons being known as events where participants create computer programmes to solve specific problems in a short period of time.
Later, she revealed the event as the Ctrl+HERITAGE Youth Symposium and Hackathon, held in Chinatown on 13 and 14 June.
The Original Poster (OP) also expressed that she felt “heavily misled”, as the hackathon “was not what was advertised”.
Event allegedly used AI-generated visuals
In her first video, the OP cited some of the red flags she observed regarding the event.
Firstly, she claimed that her group’s mentor was only there for an hour as he was “busy with work”.
According to the website, the event ran over the weekend, from 9am to 6pm on both days.
Additionally, the OP said the event’s key visuals, which were shown on their website and on T-shirts, were AI-generated.
This is despite it being a creative hackathon.
Source: @cheyennekmy on TikTok
On the morning of 17 June, MS News visited the event website and found some AI-generated visuals, as the OP had shown in a subsequent video.
However, in the afternoon, these were updated to photos from the event.
Source: Ctrl + Heritage
Stakeholders were mostly Chinese
“I feel like I was heavily misled during the registration period because the hackathon was not what was advertised,” the OP said in her second video, posted on 16 June.
When given the participant handbook on the first day of the event, she realised that the stakeholders whose problems they were supposed to solve had already been pre-selected for them.
Source: @cheyennekmy on TikTok
The OP noted that the program publicly presented itself as a “broad exploration of Singapore’s heritage”.
However, she mentioned that out of the 10 heritage locations chosen, eight are Chinese clans, associations, and businesses.
Source: @cheyennekmy on TikTok
Throughout the website, the OP highlighted how the clans were mentioned in just one line.
So she did not expect them to be a huge part of the stakeholders.
Source: @cheyennekmy on TikTok
Additionally, the OP mentioned that participants weren’t allowed to build prototypes or slides, which are staples in hackathons.
However, she also took time to mention the merits of the hackathon, including its well-planned logistics and highly qualified speakers.
Another TikTok user defends event
In the comments section, a TikTok user, claiming to be a hackathon participant, felt that she was missing the context.
Regarding the perceived lack of representation from other cultures, the commenter said the routes were planned around the venue.
With Chinatown as the location, it is likely that businesses there were of a particular heritage.
“While they should definitely consider diversity and inclusiveness, people are at times limited by the contacts they have and logistical constraints,” the commenter wrote.
They added that the organisers were “trying their best to get youth excited about heritage” and “weren’t purposefully trying to exclude anyone”.
Source: TikTok
As for the event banning prototypes, the commenter said the organisers have justified this.
This was done to help “even out the playing field” as not everyone “can afford premium software or fancy mockup tools”.
“Plus, many heritage business owners aren’t tech-savvy, so pitching without complex software is a practical, real-world consideration,” they added.
Organisers committed to learning from the experience
In response to MS News enquiries, a spokesperson for Bridging Generations said they are aware of the feedback regarding the event.
They have since reached out to the OP to better understand her experience.
“We value these perspectives and see them as an important part of strengthening future editions of the programme,” they said.
The spokesperson also expressed that, as it is the first edition of Ctrl + HERITAGE, they “recognise that not every participant will have had the experience they had hoped for”.
However, they “appreciate constructive feedback and are taking the time to reflect on the points raised”.
“CTRL+HERITAGE was created to bring young people into conversation with heritage practitioners and communities, encouraging collaboration and new ways of engaging with Singapore’s living heritage,” the spokesperson explained.
“While we are encouraged by the many meaningful conversations, partnerships and ideas that emerged over the two days, we remain committed to learning from this experience and strengthening future editions of the programme,” they added.
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Featured image adapted from @cheyennekmy on TikTok.
