UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2024 (Open to Youths Worldwide)

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About UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2024

The Youth Hackathon 2024 is a pivotal part of the Global MIL Week, providing a global stage for youth to showcase their creativity, innovation, and leadership. The event centers around the theme “Youth Leading the Way – Media and Information Literacy and the New Digital Frontiers of Information,” emphasizing the growing role of digital content creators and influencers. Participants are encouraged to explore innovative solutions that address pressing issues such as misinformation, hate speech, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

Winning teams will have the chance to present their projects at the closing ceremony of the Global MIL Week Feature Conference in Amman, Jordan. This event highlights the importance of youth involvement in media and information literacy. It fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among participants, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the global discourse on these critical issues.

Objectives

1. Empower youth: Provide opportunities for youth to actively engage in shaping the discourse surrounding Media and Information Literacy, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment. 
2. Foster innovation: Encourage youth to explore innovative solutions to promote public interest information on digital platforms and address challenges related to mis and disinformation, hate speech. 
3. Generate actionable insights: Generate actionable insights and recommendations that can inform policymaking, educational initiative and community-based interventions aimed to enhancing Media and Information Literacy worldwide.

Tasks and Challenges

The participants will focus on one of the following topics to design innovative solution and scheme their proposals:

1. Empowering youth to become active participants in shaping the digital spaces they inhabit, finding ways to promote public interest information rather than passive consumers of information. 
2. Exploring innovative solutions to address the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence.
3. Exploring receptive and effective approaches to Media and Information Literacy Education and Capacity Building through Peer education and Feeding Education.
4. Activating Youth Organizations to be agents of change through collaborating with digital content creators.

Timeline

• 5 July 2024: Registration opens

• 26 August 2024: Registration ends

• 28-29 August 2024: Two-day online mentoring programme offered to all registered participants

• 8 September 2024: Deadline for submissions

• 9-20 September 2024: Judging process

• 31 October 2024: Presentation of the winning projects during the closing ceremony of the Global MIL Week Conference in Amman, Jordan.  

• Sponsor Organisation: UNESCO

Benefits of UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2024

UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2024 for Youth in Jordan provides the following benefits:

• Invitation to present the winning projects at the Global MIL Week Feature Conference in Amman, Jordan
• Exposure to a global audience, including policymakers, educators, and media professionals
• Networking and collaboration opportunities with peers, experts, and leaders in Media and Information Literacy
• Recognition and visibility for innovative solutions addressing global challenges in the digital information landscape

UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2024 Requirements

• Teams will comprise 3-6 members (ensuring gender parity, teams can be national, regional, or international).

• Members must be aged between 18 and 30 years old and adhere to UNESCO’s values such as peace, respect for diversity, freedom of expression. 

• No previous experience is required.
   

Solution Categories ​​​​​​​

• Games

• Applications/Websites

• Radio programmes/Podcasts

• Educational toolkits

• Creative community-based interventions (non-technology focused)

• Other creative modalities for innovative interventions

Application Date and Process

• Click on the link to the application website to get started.

Submission format

Each submission to include a document presenting the solution and a 3-minute video pitch (a creative format is strongly recommended). They must include:

• The team composition
• Problem statement, objectives, audience, and alignment with this year’s challenges
• Explanation of the prototype
• Feasibility
• Sustainability
• Creativity
• Deployment strategies / Business model and evidence of market validation

 

Application Deadline

26 August, 2024

Scholarship Application Portal

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