coRel — education • correlations • religion

coRel is a data-driven educational platform that explores religious diversity, tolerance, and social cohesion using insights from the ReligionMonitor 2023 dataset. The name reflects the platform's core mission: discovering meaningful correlations between knowledge, perception, and behavior to help people understand religious diversity and build more inclusive communities.

Built for the Data4Good Berlin Hackathon 2026, coRel transforms survey data into actionable insights through interactive visualizations, educational resources, and AI-powered assistance.

🌐 Live Application: https://corel.denishoti.dev

Overview

coRel provides an interactive platform to explore:

Data Insights: Interactive carousels showcasing key findings from the ReligionMonitor 2023 survey across 7 countries
Educational Resources: Curated articles, reports, and guides about religious diversity, interfaith dialogue, and social cohesion
AI-Powered Education Chat: Intelligent assistant that answers questions and suggests relevant resources
Migration Flow Visualization: Interactive map showing migration patterns and demographic correlations
Interactive Charts: Visual representations of perception gaps, donation rates, knowledge levels, and more

The platform is designed to be:

Mobile-first: Responsive design optimized for all devices
Accessible: Built with accessibility best practices
Data-driven: All insights backed by ReligionMonitor 2023 survey data
Educational: Neutral, informative content to foster understanding

Features

🎯 Core Features

Featured Insights Carousel: Three key insights with interactive charts:
- Religion perception and knowledge impact
- Solidarity and donation rates
- Knowledge gaps across religious communities
Education Hub: Curated resources from trusted sources (BBC, The Guardian, Pew Research, OSCE, etc.)
AI Education Chat: GPT-4o-mini powered assistant with RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation)
Migration Map: Interactive visualization of migration flows and demographic data
ReligionMonitor Snapshot: Country-specific KPIs and metrics
Responsive Design: Premium UI/UX with Tailwind CSS and Framer Motion animations

📊 Data Visualizations

Religion perception charts (Canva embeds)
Donation rates by religion
Helping intentions by perception
Knowledge gaps analysis
Migration flow maps
Demographic correlation charts

Technology Stack

Frontend

React 19: Modern React with hooks
React Router: Client-side routing
Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework
Framer Motion: Animation library
Recharts: Data visualization
Deck.gl / MapLibre GL: Interactive maps
Swiper: Carousel components
Lucide React: Icon library

Backend

Node.js 20+: Runtime environment
Express.js: Web framework
OpenAI API: GPT-4o-mini for Education Chat
CORS: Cross-origin resource sharing

Deployment

Docker: Multi-stage containerized deployment
Node.js Alpine: Lightweight container base

Project Structure

coRel/
├── frontend/                 # React frontend application
│   ├── public/              # Static assets
│   │   └── images/          # Chart images
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/      # React components
│   │   ├── pages/           # Page components
│   │   ├── data/            # Mock data and configurations
│   │   └── hooks/           # Custom React hooks
│   ├── package.json
│   └── README.md
│
├── server/                  # Express backend API
│   ├── index.js             # Main server file
│   ├── educationResources.json  # Curated resources for RAG
│   ├── package.json
│   └── README.md            # Backend documentation
│
├── data/                    # ReligionMonitor dataset files
├── data_processing/         # Python scripts for data analysis
├── documentation/           # Project documentation
├── Dockerfile               # Multi-stage Docker build
├── .dockerignore
└── README.md               # This file

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js: Version 16.0.0 or higher
npm: Version 7.0.0 or higher
Docker (optional): For containerized deployment
OpenAI API Key (optional): For Education Chat feature

Local Development

Clone the repository (if applicable)
Install frontend dependencies:
```
cd frontend
npm install
```
Install backend dependencies:
```
cd ../server
npm install
```

Configure environment variables:

Create server/.env:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
PORT=8787
NODE_ENV=development

Start the backend server:
```
cd server
npm start
```
Server runs on http://localhost:8787
Start the frontend (in a new terminal):
```
cd frontend
npm start
```
Frontend runs on http://localhost:3000

The frontend will automatically proxy API requests to the backend.

Development Setup

Frontend Development

cd frontend
npm install
npm start

Development server: http://localhost:3000
Hot reload enabled
API requests proxied to http://localhost:8787

Backend Development

cd server
npm install

# Create .env file with OPENAI_API_KEY
npm start

API server: http://localhost:8787
Health check: http://localhost:8787/health

Full Stack Development

Run both servers simultaneously:

Terminal 1 (Backend):

cd server && npm start

Terminal 2 (Frontend):

cd frontend && npm start

Docker Deployment

Build and Run

# Build the Docker image
docker build -t corel:latest .

# Run the container
docker run -d \
  --name corel \
  -p 8787:8787 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here \
  -e PORT=8787 \
  -e NODE_ENV=production \
  corel:latest

Docker Compose

Create docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'

services:
  corel:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: corel
    ports:
      - "8787:8787"
    environment:
      - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
      - PORT=8787
      - NODE_ENV=production
    restart: unless-stopped

Run:

docker-compose up -d

Verify Deployment

# Check container status
docker ps

# View logs
docker logs corel

# Test health endpoint
curl http://localhost:8787/health

For detailed Docker setup instructions, see server/README.md.

Documentation

Main Documentation

Backend API Documentation: Complete backend setup, API endpoints, and deployment guide
Frontend Documentation: Frontend development guide (if available)

Additional Resources

Design System: See documentation/DESIGN_SYSTEM.md (if available)
Education Chat Setup: See documentation/EDUCATION_CHAT_SETUP.md (if available)
Migration Map Integration: See frontend/MIGRATION_MAP_INTEGRATION.md (if available)

Data Sources

Primary Dataset

ReligionMonitor 2023: Survey data from Bertelsmann Stiftung
- 7 countries: Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, USA
- Over 7,000 participants
- Weighted population-representative data

Data Files

Survey data files (.sav, .pdf) in data/ directory
Processed insights in data/cohesion_insights.json
Python processing scripts in data_processing/

Important Note

All insights and correlations shown in coRel are based on survey data associations, not causal relationships. The platform emphasizes:

Correlation ≠ causation
Multiple factors influence outcomes
Results may vary by demographic subgroups and local context

Contributing

Development Workflow

Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Test locally (frontend + backend)
Ensure code follows project conventions
Submit for review

Code Style

Frontend: React functional components with hooks
Backend: Express.js with async/await
Styling: Tailwind CSS utility classes
Animations: Framer Motion for smooth transitions

Project Conventions

Mobile-first responsive design
Accessibility best practices (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation)
Neutral, educational tone
Data-driven insights with proper attribution

Environment Variables

Backend (`server/.env`)

Variable	Required	Description
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Yes*	OpenAI API key for Education Chat
`PORT`	No	Server port (default: 8787)
`NODE_ENV`	No	Environment mode

*Required only if using Education Chat feature

Frontend

No environment variables required for basic functionality. API proxy configured in frontend/src/setupProxy.js.

API Endpoints

Backend API

POST /api/edu-chat: Education Chat endpoint
GET /health: Health check endpoint

See server/README.md for complete API documentation.

Browser Support

Chrome/Edge (latest)
Firefox (latest)
Safari (latest)
Mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Chrome Mobile)

License

Built for Data4Good Berlin Hackathon 2026.

Acknowledgments

Bertelsmann Stiftung for the ReligionMonitor 2023 dataset
Data4Good Berlin for the hackathon opportunity
OpenAI for GPT-4o-mini API
All contributors and supporters

Support

Live Application: https://corel.denishoti.dev
Issues: Check documentation in server/README.md and frontend/README.md
Troubleshooting: See troubleshooting sections in respective README files

coRel - Understanding Religious Diversity, Building Stronger Communities

Built with ❤️ for Data4Good Berlin Hackathon 2026

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 26 Commits
data_processing		data_processing
documentation		documentation
frontend		frontend
python_notebooks		python_notebooks
server		server
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
README.md		README.md
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

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Latest commit

History

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coRel — education • correlations • religion

Table of Contents

Overview

Features

🎯 Core Features

📊 Data Visualizations

Technology Stack

Frontend

Backend

Deployment

Project Structure

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Local Development

Development Setup

Frontend Development

Backend Development

Full Stack Development

Docker Deployment

Build and Run

Docker Compose

Verify Deployment

Documentation

Main Documentation

Additional Resources

Data Sources

Primary Dataset

Data Files

Important Note

Contributing

Development Workflow

Code Style

Project Conventions

Environment Variables

Backend (server/.env)

Frontend

API Endpoints

Backend API

Browser Support

License

Acknowledgments

Support

About

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