SDSN Youth is partnering with Hack for Earth, working together to find solutions to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals and place young people at the forefront of the upcoming world exhibition Expo 2020 Dubai. 

Hack for Earth will be hosting an online global hackathon in collaboration with the UN and the Swedish Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, inviting participants from all over the world to join in the quest for a better planet.

As partners, we at SDSN Youth have supported the development of the hackathon challenges and will provide the competing teams with tools that can help them crack the solutions, including multiple online courses from the SDG Academy and access to the SDG Academy library. 

“Harnessing tech solutions is one of the greatest means of accelerating solutions for sustainable development goals,” said Brighton Kaoma, Global Director of SDSN Youth. 

For the development of solutions, the project will scale through four steps:

Dream for Earth

This interactive campaign invites people all around the world to shares their dreams for our future, related to the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All dreams submitted, in videos and texts, will be analyzed using an AI-based tool to find out how the dreams correlate to the SDGs. The collection of dreams will be part of the physical exhibition Dream for Earth in the Swedish Pavillion at Expo 2020 Dubai. We are also excited to announce that our very own, Brighton Kaoma, is one of the serving ambassadors of this campaign. 

You can share your Dream for Earth throughout the whole Expo 2020 period (October 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022), through the website dreamforearth.com or by visiting the Swedish Pavilion. 

Hack for Earth – making the dreams for earth come to life

People from all over the world are invited to join the online hackathon where participants will be grouped into teams and use their joint skills to solve the SDGs. Applicants are strongly encouraged to sign up with their team at hackforearth.com before 7pm (Eastern Time) on October 15.

Hack for Earth will officially start online on October 22 and last for two weeks. There are seven categories to compete in, based on the SDGs. 

Build for Earth

In a live-streamed ceremony on November 19, the appointed jury for the competition will name the winners from each of the seven categories. One representative from each of the seven winning teams will be invited to Expo2020 in Dubai, to compete for the Hack for Earth Award on stage on December 15. The category winners will pitch their solutions to the Head Jury Group and a live audience.

Pitch for Earth

On Earth Hour Day, 26 March 2022, the seven winning teams will be invited back to Expo 2020 Dubai to share their progress with the jury. They will be given live feedback on stage from the jury members in front of a live audience, on how far they have come in creating real tools for the good of society and our planet. The Pitch for Earth event will create the necessary push for the winning teams, who will be expected to work hard on bringing their winning solutions to life directly after the Prize Ceremony’s confetti has landed on 15 December  2021. 

“To join Hack for Earth is a unique opportunity to impact the most pressing challenges of our time in a hands-on way,” said Ann Molin, Founder and Secretary-General of the Hack for Earth Foundation.

For more information sign-up at hackforearth.com