SYDNEY, Aug. 9 -- Australia is home to some of the world's oldest languages but sadly many of them are at risk of being forgotten.

That's why the University of Technology Sydney's Indigi Lab in collaboration with a host of other partners have held a hack-a-thon competition challenging young Aboriginal people aged 8 to 18 to develop an app that can help revitalize and retain Indigenous languages.

Merging culture and language with technology and science, the two-day event that will conclude on Friday is part of Australia's National Science Week and held in conjunction with the Sydney Science Festival.

According to Indigi Lab, "as many as half of the world's 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century and it is estimated that one language dies out every 14 days."

Hoping to save Australia's vast diversity of Aboriginal languages, it is believed there are between 290 to 363 languages belonging to an around 28 different language families Down Under.

The winner of the competition will gain entry to an innovation incubator to refine and perfect the app with the help of experts and professional in the field.