History

FtO Events

Since 2019, Facing the Ocean has gathered civic tech communities at a new location each year โ€” rotating between Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

2026
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FtO Seoul 2026

Sept 18โ€“20, 2026 Haja Center, Seoul Hosted by Code for Korea

FtO returns to Seoul with a special focus on youth engagement, hosted at Haja Center โ€” a creative hub in Yeongdeungpo dedicated to empowering young people through "learning by doing."

2025
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FtO Kaohsiung 2025 ยท ้ขๆตทๆพ 2025 ๅœจ้ซ˜้›„

Sept 12โ€“14, 2025 Net Zero Institute, Kaohsiung Hosted by g0v

Three days of hacking, sharing, and connecting at the Net Zero Institute in Taiwan's southern city of Kaohsiung โ€” including a civic tech workshop for civil servants.

2024
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FtO Yokohama 2024

Aug 17โ€“18, 2024 PACIFICO Yokohama Annex Hall Hosted by Code for Japan

Hosted by Code for Japan at PACIFICO Yokohama. Participants gathered despite earthquake scares in the news and a typhoon that cancelled many flights โ€” and the event ran safely in the end, featuring workshops and collaborative hacking across the region.

2023
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FtO Jeju 2023

June 9โ€“11, 2023 NIA Global Center, Seogwipo, Jeju Hosted by Code for Korea

Three days of civic hacking on the island of Jeju. The venue was the NIA Global Center in Seogwipo City, surrounded by the natural landscape of Jeju Island.

2022
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FtO Happy New Year 2022

Jan 23, 2022 Online gathering

A new-year online gathering where the FtO community reconnected and shared what everyone was working on, as the world prepared to resume in-person events.

2021
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The Nerds Are Facing the Ocean

June 12 ยท Aug 28 ยท Sept 25, 2021 Online event series

A series of three online gatherings around the theme of nerd politics โ€” keeping civic tech communities across the region connected during the pandemic years.

2020
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FtO Tainan 2020 ร— g0v Summit

Dec 3, 2020 A Break Cafe, Tainan Co-located with g0v Summit 2020

FtO's return to Tainan, co-hosted alongside the g0v biannual summit. A vibrant cafรฉ hacking experience open to the public.

2020
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FtO Anywhere 2020 (Online)

March 27, 2020 Open to participants everywhere

As in-person events became impossible, FtO moved online under the theme "Civic Hacking for Public Health" โ€” around 30 participants joined from anywhere in the world.

2019
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FtO Tainan 2019

Dec 20โ€“22, 2019 Tainan, Taiwan Hosted by g0v

One of the two inaugural FtO events. Projects included Herstory of East Asia and open data tools for public health across the region.

2019
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FtO Okinawa 2019 โ€” The First

June 8โ€“9, 2019 Okinawa, Japan Hosted by Code for Japan

The inaugural Facing the Ocean event โ€” held on Okinawa, geographically and symbolically at the meeting point of Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. "An event for people of the oceans to meet people and hack together."