UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2025 – Building MIL Solutions for Impact

The UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2025 is an inspiring initiative under the Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, inviting young changemakers (ages 18–30) from across the globe to develop innovative solutions that tackle digital challenges in today’s media landscape.

Event Theme & Purpose

• Theme: Youth Leading the Way – Building MIL Solutions for Impact
• The hackathon mobilizes youth to create solutions for misinformation, AI-related risks, hate speech, platform dominance, and other threats to information integrity.

Participation Details

• Who can participate: Teams of 3–6 members, international or regional, with gender balance and inclusive representation encouraged. All team members must be aged 18–30, and prior experience is not required—just passion and innovation.
• Tracks available:
  • AI & MIL (e.g., ethical AI tools)
  • MIL Education (e.g., creative teaching methods)
  • Community Impact (e.g., grassroots literacy campaigns)
  • Youth Engagement (e.g., digital peer-led movements)
  • Open Track for any allied ideas aligned with the theme.

Format & Deadlines

• Mentoring programme: 19–20 August 2025 (online), featuring experts in AI, media ethics, disinformation, and coding basics.
• Application timeline:
  • Registration: 31 July – 15 August 2025
  • Submission period: 8 August – 1 September 2025
  • Evaluation: 1 – 12 September 2025
  • Final presentations: At the Global MIL Week Conference, 23–24 October 2025 in Cartagena, Colombia. All finalist teams will attend with travel and accommodation fully covered by UNESCO.

What to Submit

Each team must submit:

1. A written proposal (PDF or Word) detailing team members, challenges, objectives, prototype concept, feasibility, sustainability, and creativity.
2. A 3-minute pitch video to communicate the project’s purpose, uniqueness, and expected impact.

Why It Matters

• Empowers young innovators to shape the future of information literacy and push for media transparency.
• Provides mentorship, global exposure, and a platform to present solutions on an international stage.
• Supports youth-led, community-centered, and creative approaches to digital challenges.
• Builds bridges between digital innovation, civic engagement, and global policy discourse.