MUSCAT: ‘Barmajan’, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, has secured a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest government digital transformation hackathon in the world, in addition to being registered as the largest multi-location hackathon lesson worldwide.
The achievement was marked in the presence of Sayyid Said bin Sultan al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Culture; Khalil al Hudaifi, CEO of Government and Private Banking at Sohar International; and Hassan bin Ali al Ajmi, Director of Business Resilience at Nama Group. A total of 276 participants took part, with the National Museum serving as the main venue and Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher as the secondary site.
Al Busaidy stated that this accomplishment reflects a clear commitment to various standards.
He added that when the initiative first launched, it was not intended to set a record. However, thanks to the thorough preparation, great attention to detail and quality of the programme, it succeeded in drawing global attention, allowing Oman to register a new achievement — not by breaking a previous record, but by opening a new category that others may attempt to surpass in the future.Sultan bin Mohsen al Subhi, Director of ‘Barmajan’, explained that Oman succeeded in setting a new world record by organising the largest hackathon lesson globally and the longest government digital transformation hackathon, with more than 320 programming hours over eight weeks full of passion and creativity.Mbali Nkosi, the official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, explained that this record was recognised as the largest hackathon lesson, and its success depended on the number of participants taking part.“This hackathon has already been running for several weeks, and some of the ideas proposed by participants are already being put into practice. This reflects progress towards achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040 for digital transformation,” Nkosi added.