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UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026
UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026

UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026

Play Your Part: Youth Designing the Future of Media and Information Literacy

The UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026 is a global innovation challenge inviting young people to design creative, practical, and inclusive solutions for the future of Media and Information Literacy, also known as MIL.

Under the theme “Play Your Part: Youth Designing the Future of Media and Information Literacy,” the Hackathon recognizes young people as important drivers of innovation, social change, and digital transformation.

Participants from around the world are invited to form teams, identify a meaningful challenge connected to media and information literacy, and develop a solution that can help individuals and communities navigate today’s complex information environment.

The Hackathon is not limited to software development. Teams may submit digital products, educational tools, media projects, community initiatives, campaigns, games, artistic works, or other creative solutions.

Four winning teams will be selected. UNESCO will invite representatives of the winning teams to present their projects at the Voices European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 26 to 28 November 2026.

Overview

About the Hackathon

Digital technologies, social media, artificial intelligence, and rapidly evolving communication platforms have transformed how people create, access, evaluate, and share information.

These developments offer major opportunities, but they also create serious challenges, including:

  • Misinformation and disinformation
  • AI-generated and manipulated content
  • Online hate speech
  • Digital exclusion
  • Information overload
  • Limited access to reliable information
  • Declining trust in media and public institutions
  • Lack of critical thinking and verification skills
  • Unequal access to media and information literacy education

The UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026 gives young people an opportunity to respond to these challenges with innovative and socially responsible solutions.

Teams are expected to identify a real problem, understand the people or communities affected by it, and propose a clear intervention that can create meaningful and sustainable impact.

Theme

Play Your Part: Youth Designing the Future of Media and Information Literacy

The theme emphasizes the role of young people as creators, educators, community leaders, innovators, and agents of change.

Projects should demonstrate how youth-led ideas can strengthen people’s ability to:

  • Access reliable information
  • Evaluate sources critically
  • Recognize misinformation and manipulation
  • Understand how digital platforms and algorithms work
  • Use artificial intelligence responsibly
  • Participate safely and meaningfully online
  • Exercise freedom of expression responsibly
  • Create and share ethical media content
  • Support informed and inclusive communities

Objectives

The UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026 aims to:

  1. Empower young people to address media and information challenges.
  2. Encourage youth-led innovation in Media and Information Literacy.
  3. Promote responsible, ethical, and inclusive uses of digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
  4. Support solutions that strengthen critical thinking, civic participation, freedom of expression, and access to reliable information.
  5. Connect young innovators with experts in MIL, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, innovation, and project development.
  6. Identify promising solutions that may be developed, tested, or implemented beyond the Hackathon.
  7. Promote international and cross-cultural collaboration between young people.

Who Can Participate?

The Hackathon is open to young people from around the world.

Teams must meet the following requirements:

  • Each team must consist of 2 to 6 members.
  • Every team member must be between 18 and 30 years old.
  • Teams may be national, regional, or international.
  • Participants do not need previous hackathon, programming, or technical experience.
  • Teams should support UNESCO’s values, including peace, respect for diversity, inclusion, human rights, and freedom of expression.
  • Gender balance and meaningful inclusion are strongly encouraged.

Participants may come from any academic or professional background, including technology, education, journalism, media, communications, design, social sciences, business, arts, public policy, community development, and related fields.

Why Participate?

Participants will have the opportunity to:

  • Develop an innovative solution to a real global challenge
  • Work with young people from different backgrounds and countries
  • Improve their project development and pitching skills
  • Receive guidance from experts
  • Explore Media and Information Literacy
  • Build experience in innovation and social impact
  • Present an idea to an international panel of experts
  • Become part of a global youth innovation community
  • Compete for the opportunity to showcase their project in Greece

No previous technical experience is required. A strong understanding of the problem, a creative idea, teamwork, and motivation are more important than advanced coding skills.

Challenge Tracks

Teams may select one or more of the following focus areas.

1. AI and Media and Information Literacy

This track is for solutions addressing challenges created or intensified by artificial intelligence.

Possible areas include:

  • Recognizing AI-generated content
  • Deepfake awareness and detection
  • Responsible use of generative AI
  • AI transparency and explainability
  • Algorithmic bias
  • Ethical AI education
  • Fact-checking with AI
  • Understanding recommendation algorithms
  • Protecting users from AI-enabled manipulation
  • Helping educators teach AI literacy
  • Supporting responsible AI content creation

Projects should help people understand AI systems, evaluate AI-generated information critically, or use AI more safely and responsibly.

2. MIL Education

This track focuses on creative ways to teach and strengthen Media and Information Literacy in the digital age.

Possible solutions include:

  • Educational games
  • School programmes
  • Teacher resources
  • Online learning platforms
  • Interactive courses
  • Fact-checking exercises
  • Digital citizenship programmes
  • Youth workshops
  • Learning materials for parents
  • Community education toolkits
  • Media literacy assessment tools

Solutions should make MIL education engaging, accessible, relevant, and effective for a clearly identified audience.

3. Community Impact

This track is for MIL-based interventions designed to strengthen communities.

Projects may focus on:

  • Rural communities
  • Migrants and displaced people
  • Linguistic minorities
  • People with disabilities
  • Older adults
  • Marginalized groups
  • Communities with limited internet access
  • Communities affected by misinformation
  • Local journalists and community media
  • Public health or emergency information

Teams should demonstrate a clear understanding of the community they want to support and explain how the solution will respond to that community’s specific needs.

4. Youth Engagement

This track focuses on positioning young people and youth organizations as leaders of MIL-related change.

Possible projects include:

  • Youth ambassador programmes
  • Peer-to-peer education
  • Campus initiatives
  • Youth-led fact-checking networks
  • Volunteer programmes
  • Social media campaigns
  • Youth media platforms
  • Community clubs
  • Training programmes
  • Regional youth networks
  • Advocacy initiatives

Projects should give young people an active role rather than treating them only as recipients of information.

5. Open Track

Teams may submit another Media and Information Literacy solution that does not fall directly under the four main tracks.

Open Track submissions must still:

  • Relate clearly to Media and Information Literacy
  • Align with the 2026 theme
  • Address a meaningful problem
  • Demonstrate potential impact
  • Reflect UNESCO’s principles and values

Eligible Project Formats

Submissions are not limited to applications or technical prototypes.

Projects may take the form of:

  • Mobile applications
  • Websites or online platforms
  • Games
  • Radio programmes
  • Podcasts
  • Comics
  • Short videos
  • Documentaries
  • Artistic projects
  • Educational toolkits
  • Training programmes
  • Youth organization campaigns
  • Community-based interventions
  • Awareness campaigns
  • Learning resources
  • Workshops or event formats
  • Digital verification tools
  • AI-powered solutions
  • Other creative and innovative interventions

A complete working product is not required unless otherwise communicated by UNESCO. Teams may submit a well-developed concept, prototype, demonstration, mock-up, pilot, or implementation plan.

However, the submission should explain clearly how the solution would work in practice.

Mentoring Programme

All registered participants will have access to an online two-day mentoring programme scheduled for 1–2 July 2026.

The programme features experts in areas such as:

  • Media and Information Literacy
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Digital transformation
  • Innovation
  • Project development
  • Social impact
  • Proposal preparation
  • Pitching and presentation

The sessions are intended to help participants strengthen their ideas and prepare competitive submissions.

Places in the live sessions are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants who do not receive a live place will still have access to the session recordings and learning materials.

Participation in the mentoring programme can help teams, but attendance is not presented as a requirement for submitting a project.

Submission Requirements

Each team must submit two main components in English.

1. Project Proposal

The proposal must be submitted in PDF or Word format.

Maximum file size: 10 MB

The proposal should include the following sections.

Team Information

Include:

  • Team name
  • Names of all team members
  • Ages of all team members
  • Countries or places of residence
  • Relevant roles, backgrounds, or skills
  • Main contact person

Problem Statement

Explain:

  • What problem the team has identified
  • Who is affected by the problem
  • Why the problem matters
  • What evidence or observations support the problem
  • How the problem relates to Media and Information Literacy

The problem should be specific enough for the proposed solution to address effectively.

Project Objectives

Describe:

  • What the project intends to achieve
  • What change the team wants to create
  • The expected short-term and long-term results
  • How success could be measured

Target Audience

Identify the main users or beneficiaries.

The proposal should explain:

  • Who they are
  • Where they are located
  • What challenges they experience
  • Why the proposed solution is appropriate for them
  • How they would access or use the solution

Proposed Solution

Explain the project clearly.

Include:

  • What the project is
  • How it works
  • Its main features or activities
  • How users will interact with it
  • What makes it useful
  • What stage of development it has reached

Teams may include mock-ups, diagrams, screenshots, storyboards, user journeys, prototype links, research findings, or other supporting materials.

Innovation and Creativity

Explain:

  • What makes the solution original
  • How it differs from existing approaches
  • Whether it uses a new technology, method, format, partnership, or delivery model
  • Why the chosen approach is appropriate for the problem

Innovation does not necessarily mean using advanced technology. A simple but effective community solution can also be innovative.

Impact and Inclusion

Describe:

  • The expected social or educational impact
  • How the solution addresses a real need
  • How it supports diverse users
  • How it includes marginalized or underserved communities
  • How barriers such as language, disability, income, connectivity, geography, or education will be considered

Feasibility

Explain:

  • What resources are required
  • What skills the team already has
  • What additional support may be needed
  • How the project could be tested
  • What the implementation stages would be
  • What challenges or risks may arise
  • How those risks could be managed

Sustainability

Describe how the project could continue after the Hackathon.

This may include:

  • Partnerships
  • Community ownership
  • Volunteer participation
  • Institutional support
  • Funding models
  • Open-source development
  • Training models
  • Revenue models
  • Integration into schools or organizations
  • Plans for maintenance and updates
  • Expansion to additional communities or countries

The proposal should be clear, concise, well structured, and easy to read.

2. Pitch Video

Each team must submit a pitch video with a maximum duration of three minutes.

The video should present the project in a clear and engaging way.

The pitch should answer the following questions:

  • What problem are you solving?
  • Why does the problem matter?
  • Who is affected?
  • What is your proposed solution?
  • How does the solution work?
  • Who will benefit from it?
  • What makes the project original?
  • What impact could it create?
  • Why is your team capable of developing the idea?

Teams should focus on the project rather than expensive video production.

A strong pitch can be recorded with a smartphone or basic camera. Clear communication, good structure, understandable audio, and a convincing explanation are more important than advanced editing.