In recent decades, countries across Africa have experienced an increase in the frequency and severity of floods. Malawians are particularly affected by climate change because of their significant reliance on subsistence farming.

From January to March 2015, Malawi was struck by devestating floods caused by sustained heavy rains. Approximately 230,000 people were displaced and 276 reported dead or missing. The floods washed away food stocks and ruined fertile land, leading to a food crisis that affected approximately 2.8 million Malawians.

The objective of this challenge is to interpret and generate insights from the data on the 2015 flooding and its aftermath specifically in southern Malawi.

You are invited to come up with an original visualization and/or a written report using the data provided that explore the impact of the 2015 floods.

This competition is sponsored by ARM and UNICEF as part of the 2030Vision initiative.

About 2030Vision (2030vision.com):

2030Vision is an initiative founded to propel technology forward to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 2030Vision aims to transform the use of technology through collaborative partnerships and innovative projects, to support the delivery of the SDGs and unlock the commercial opportunities they offer, by identifying and scaling impactful technologies through multi-sector partnerships.

About UNICEF (unicef.org):

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children around the world. UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

About ARM (arm.com):

ARM is the world’s leading semiconductor IP company with technologies reaching 70% of the global population. Arm’s device architectures orchestrate the performance of the technology that's transforming our lives — from smartphones to supercomputers, from medical instruments to agricultural sensors, and from base stations to servers. In response to the Global Goals and in recognition of Arm’s position within the technology sector, Arm founded 2030Vision in 2017, in partnership with the UN system and others.

Upon acceptance of the prize, you thereby agree to allow Zindi and its partners to share and publish your solution.

Your solution must not infringe the rights of any third party and you must be legally entitled to assign ownership of all rights of copyright in and to the winning solution code to Zindi.

You may only use the data pages that are on the Data page.

Multiple accounts per user are not allowed and neither is collaboration nor membership across multiple teams.

To be eligible for this competition you must register for this competition on Zindi. You must upload your submission to the competition leaderboard. Note that there will be no scores on this leaderboard. We will judge you on only one submission. If you make multiple submissions, you will be judged on only the most recent submission.

Individual competitors are now able to form teams on this competition. You must accept the rules associated with teaming.

Multiple accounts per user are not allowed. Collaboration across individuals not in the same team is not allowed. And collaboration across different teams that is not allowed.

Code and solutions must not be shared privately. Any code that is shared, must be made available to all competition participants through the platform.

Upon the close of this competition, the judging panel will score your submission according to the evaluation criteria. The panel’s determination is final. Winners will be announced within 21 working days of the competition close.

Refer to the FAQs and Terms of Use for additional rules that may apply to this competition.

You acknowledge and agree that Zindi may, without any obligation to do so, remove or disqualify an individual, team, or account if Zindi believes that such individual, team, or account is in violation of these Rules.

We reserve the right to modify these rules at any time as necessary.

The evaluation of PDF submissions will be done by a committee of representatives from UNICEF, ARM, and Facebook and will take into consideration the following criteria:

The submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Uniqueness of the insights (30%): Did the data scientist analyze the data in new ways and uncover insights and findings that are not obvious?
2. Effective communication of ideas (30%): Are the findings easy to understand and well-communicated?
3. The potential impact of the insights (30%): Would the key messages likely change thinking or even drive action by policymakers and other stakeholders?
4. Overall presentation (10%): Is the design of the visuals and the deliverable well-done?

Your submission should be a PDF document with clear explanations of visualizations. Text may be included. Your submission needs to include references to all data sources, papers, blogs and articles used.

Please label your files:

username_submission_XXX.pdf

Where XXX is a unique ID to identify when your submission was made.

1st Place: $2 500 USD

2nd Place: $1 500 USD

3rd Place: $1 000 USD

Competition closes on 18 May 2020.

Final submissions must be received by 11:59 PM GMT.

We reserve the right to update the contest timeline if necessary.