It was the last day before the Christmas break and the clock was coming up to about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. As people started living early to get home, there was still plenty to be done. One of which was to print off a PDF document that was sent to us to read and then sign to create the local chapter.

Sitting on the porch together in West End sipping iced tea and looking over the document that we were all going to sign, the purpose and the intentions were clear. We discussed the simple questions of “How did we get here?” and “What value do we collectively bring to the ecosystem?”, with further thoughts about Hacking Health at HIC conference earlier in the year as well as our initial introductions through running a different hackathon event earlier that year. We recollect the numerous conversations with different people around the startup and research community about the forming of the chapter. There has been so much support and #GiveFirst attitude that if we didn’t do it, then it would be one less opportunity to give people a platform to tell their story and for everyone to connect with others in a meaningful way.

There were some decisions that needed to be made, one of which was the simple thing of a name – “We needed to be called Hacking Health Queensland”. It was offered to us as “Hacking Health Brisbane”. So much of what we want to do as an ecosystem is to be inclusive and bring diversity to create the opportunity for better outcomes. It’s been mentioned in the past that one of best assets is “diversity is own strength” – entrepreneurs, researchers, sales, community builders, creatives, family, multicultural, etc (the list can go on).

After coming to a common understanding of the contracts, our local mission as well as mode of conduct, we committed ourselves to the local chapter and Hacking Health Queensland was created.