Macedonia this weekend for the first time ever is part of a worldwide event, the NASA Space App Challenge in which participants are looking for solutions to global issues to improve life on Earth and in space.

Skopje is one of the 83 participating cities at the second-ever global competition.

On Saturday and Sunday, about hundred programmers, engineers, scientists, students, professors and experts from Macedonia and all over the world are working on dozens challenges to find hardware and software solutions to global issues on Earth.

Opening the hackathon, Minister of Information Society Ivo Ivanovski said that it was an important competition for Macedonia to encourage entrepreneurs, programmers and program developers in the country.

"Let's prove that Macedonia is a land of IT experts and in spite of being small, Macedonia is equal with any other country when it comes to educated and quality potential. As a result, NASA has selected Macedonia to be included in the challenge where IT apps are being designed," Ivanovski stated.

Macedonia, he also added, has been chosen due to the fact that an information society has been established in the country.

Local prizes will be given at the end of the hackathon for the best solutions to come out of each official Space Apps event. Then an international judging panel will select a winner.

Seavus - one of the largest IT companies in Macedonia - is organising the event.