Join UNFPA’s 2024 Climate Hacklab for Youth-Led Solutions
Climate change disproportionately impacts young people, especially girls, who are among the most vulnerable groups. According to Plan International, a mere 2% of national climate plans address girls specifically. Research shows that each additional year of education for women reduces child mortality by 9.5%. However, climate-induced displacements often disrupt access to education, exacerbating child mortality and increasing risks such as child marriage, violence, mental health issues, and malnutrition.
Given these challenges, it’s crucial to involve young people in climate adaptation efforts. Recognizing their potential, the UNFPA is launching the “Let’s Hack Climate Change” Hacklab in 2024. This initiative, part of UNFPA’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) climate innovation program, aims to foster youth-led climate solutions. The Hacklab will include a series of “Hackathons” designed to transform innovative ideas into viable climate action solutions, with a focus on integrating sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) into resilience building.
The Hacklab will unfold in two phases:
1. Innovation Call and Pitch Events: The first phase involves a call for innovative solutions from young people in Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, and South Sudan. UNFPA Country Offices (COs) will shortlist and categorize these solutions. Successful ideas will then be presented at CO-level pitch events. Two top solutions per country will advance to the regional pitch event, where they could win $10,000 in seed funding and additional support for scaling.
2. Investment Readiness and Support: In the second phase, regional winners will receive ongoing support from enterprise coaches to prepare for market adoption. UNFPA will collaborate with partners to facilitate market access and integration of these solutions into national climate strategies.
The 2024 Hacklab invites applications addressing:
• Empowerment and adaptive capacity of women, girls, and marginalized groups.
• Involvement of youth in SRHR program design in climate-affected areas.
• Access to health and protection systems to mitigate climate impacts on SRHR.
• Promotion of SRHR and climate change knowledge and tools.
Eligibility Criteria:
• Innovative ideas addressing climate change impacts.
• Based in Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, or South Sudan.
• Novelty and scalability of the solution.
• Innovators aged 35 or younger, with a minimum viable product (MVP).
• Women, girls, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Timeline:
• August 1-22, 2024: Open call for submissions.
• Last week of August: Shortlisting by UNFPA CO.
• September: Training and bootcamp.
• October: CO-level pitch events.
• November: Regional pitch event.
• December: Awarding of seed funding and showcase.
Awards:
1. Country-Level Pitch Events: Each winner will receive $5,000 USD in prize money.
2. Regional Pitch Event: The top two winners will be awarded $10,000 USD each in seed money, along with additional enterprise support.
More info here.
