Opportunity Title: UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week Youth Hackathon 2024

UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy Week Youth Hackathon 2024

The Youth Hackathon, a core component of Global MIL Week, offers a global platform for youth participation and engagement. It aims to harness innovation and youth-led initiatives to address the week's theme: the growing role of digital content creators and influencers, and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

Winning teams will present their projects in Amman, Jordan, on October 30-31, during the Global MIL Week Feature Conference closing ceremony.

Theme: Youth Leading the Way – Media and Information Literacy and the New Digital Frontiers of Information

Summary of the Program

• Type: Youth Contest
• Sponsor: UNESCO
• Eligible Countries: All Countries
• Benefits: Empowerment, Innovative Solutions
• Funding Type: Partially Funded
• Deadline: August 26, 2024

Requirements for UNESCO Youth Hackathon

• Teams of 3-6 members (ensuring gender parity) can be national, regional, or international.
• Members must be aged 18-30 and align with UNESCO's values of peace, respect for diversity, and freedom of expression.
• No previous experience is required.

Benefits of UNESCO Youth Hackathon

• Empower youth: Provide opportunities for youth to shape the media and information literacy discourse.
• Foster innovation: Encourage innovative solutions to promote public interest information and address misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech.
• Generate actionable insights: Inform policymaking, educational initiatives, and community interventions for enhanced media and information literacy worldwide.

Selection ProcessTasks and Challenges Teams focus on one of these topics to design innovative solutions:

• Empowering youth to become active participants in shaping digital spaces.
• Addressing challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence.
• Exploring effective media and information literacy education and capacity building through peer education.
• Activating youth organizations as agents of change through collaboration with digital content creators.

Timeline

• July 5, 2024: Registration opens
• August 26, 2024: Registration closes
• August 28-29, 2024: Two-day online mentoring program for all registered participants
• September 8, 2024: Submission deadline
• September 9-20, 2024: Judging process
• October 31, 2024: Presentation of winning projects at the Global MIL Week Conference in Amman, Jordan.

How to Apply Submit a document presenting the solution and a 3-minute video pitch. Include:

• Team composition
• Problem statement, objectives, audience, and alignment with challenges
• Prototype explanation
• Feasibility
• Sustainability
• Creativity
• Deployment strategies/business model and market validation evidence

Deadline: August 26, 2024