WeChat and Global Peers Launch COVID-19 Global Hackathon to Support the World Health Organisation

GUANGZHOU,China,March 25,2020 --WeChat,China's most used social platform,on Wednesday announced it is partnering with major technology platforms including Facebook and Microsoft to invite developers to a global hackathon in order to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic with technology.

WeChat is joining with industry peers to launch the COVID-19 Global Hackathon starting March 26,2020,which invites developers to build locally or globally focused software solutions that tackle the challenges related to the pandemic as identified by the World Health Organization.

The initiative adds to the ongoing efforts by WeChat and its developer community in coming up with creative technological solutions including mini programs and health codes to help billions battle the COVID-19 outbreak in China and shift life online.

WeChat,owned by Tencent Holdings,provides a host of essential services ranging from instant messaging,infotainment to payment within one app. Leveraging its large user base of more than 1.16 billion,WeChat has played a crucial role in promoting public awareness about COVID-19 and digitalising public services in China rapidly. Over 1,000 mini programs in municipal services,healthcare and education were recently generated,while the Tencent Health Code became the most used e-path for verifying health and travel history in China,with 10 billion total visits since February.

Innovators around the world are invited to #BuildforCOVID19 using technologies of their choice,including WeChat's mini program - a vibrant ecosystem within the WeChat app with more than 300 million daily active users.

Developers are asked to submit their projects on Devpost before March 30. The major themes inviting submissions include healthcare,vulnerable populations' daily needs,business challenges,community and social relations,education,and entertainment. For more details,visithttps://covid-global-hackathon.devpost.com/

About WeChat

WeChat,known as Weixin in China,envisions and innovates new ways for people and enterprises to connect,communicate and share. Launched in January 2011,WeChat empowers users in fun and dynamic ways,bringing together messaging,infotainment and payment in one seamless,interactive experience,whilst also allowing merchants to engage with their community through key functions such as Moments,Official Accounts,Mini Programs,and WeChat Pay. As at December 2019,WeChat had 1.16 billion users across more than 200 countries around the world.

CONTACT:

SJ Jiang

sijiang@tencent.com

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