Silicon Harlem added a strong tech flavor to this year’s Harlem Week activities, with events for uptown’s younger residents.
BY
JAY MWAMBA
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, August 13, 2016, 6:02 AM

Celebrated for its colorful legacy as a cultural, social and political beacon, Harlem may well be on its way to adding a new distinction as a community: an innovation and technology hub.

That is the mission of Silicon Harlem, a social venture that has added a strong tech flavor to this year’s Harlem Week activities, with events for uptown’s younger residents.

Co-founded by award-winning technology whiz Clayton Banks, Silicon Harlem’s culminating event will be the Children’s Festival, during the “Summer in the City” spectacular on Saturday on W. 135th St. between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.

“The festival targets kids 4- to 13-years-old to spark their interest in STEM,” said Banks. “We’ll focus on activities that are based around science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM]and offer an interactive experience where young people can compete for prizes.”

The accent on young Harlem residents is part of Silicon Harlem’s strategy to transform the community and other urban markets into innovation and technology hubs.

The second annual Harlem Week “Hackathon” on Aug. 6 drew more than a hundred participants ages 13 to 21 to City College of New York. They came from public schools and academies across Harlem, and included high school students from around the city.

More than 100 young people attended the second annual Hackathon on Aug. 6 organized by Silicon Harlem and the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. The hackathon focused on virtual reality and how it could be used for social good.

Two other Harlem Week tech events were held earlier this summer.

The family-orientated Tech Pavilion, during the month-long Harlem Week celebration’s “A Great Day in Harlem,” kicked off in General Grant National Memorial Park on July 31 and brought the community together around the STEM theme. It featured, among other activities, virtual reality experiences, robotics and the BioBus that helps children rediscover science.

And on Aug. 11, Columbia University hosted the Silicon Harlem Tech Meetup on Economic Development Day. Established by Banks, it’s the only comprehensive technology conference in Harlem.

The hackathon focused on virtual reality and how it could be used for social good. (SILICON HARLEM)
According to Banks, whose numerous honors include a proclamation from New York City as a technology leader, the meetups focus on entrepreneurship and how technology and innovation drive the economy.

Post Harlem Week, Silicon Harlem can count on big allies as it proceeds with its tech vision for the community. The tech group has a partnership with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Harlem Week’s organizers, to bring “STEAM” (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) events uptown.

Through another partnership with the city Department of Education, Silicon Harlem has established an after school STEM-based startup accelerator to help foster new businesses. And Silicon Harlem has also collaborated with the Mayor’s Office to assess wireless broadband in upper Manhattan and coordinate a virtual startup incubator for tech-based entrepreneurs.