Climate change is among the most urgent issues of our time.

In fact, the warmest seven years on record have all been since 2015. Up to one million species are at risk of extinction due to climate change. Hundreds of millions of poeple will be displaced from their homes because of it. The Climate Action Tracker anticipates a 4 degrees increase in global temperatures by 2100 if we keep with our current trajectories… The delicate balance that we have on Earth is at risk.

So, what do we do about it? The need for action & innovation is more urgent than ever. And to make headway in addressing the problem, it will not be a “magic bullet” that solves everything, but rather the joint efforts of engineers, artists, coders, educators, politicians, business-people & others coordinating with a variety of diverse solutions to make both individual and collective impact.

Our challenge: Can you (together) create that next key solution to our climate change dilemma?

It can be locally-focused, it can be globally-minded. It can be an art concept, a new machine, a code-heavy app, a proposal for an event, a plan to conserve an ecosystem, an education campaign or more. It can be a business, a non-profit concept or anything in between. It can be many things. As long as it’s built with the planet and its people in mind, working to address the climate crisis in its own unique way.

Join the hackathon now!

The Logistics:

Details will be finalized closed to the date, with some key logistics shared:

• Our opening ceremony is at 10 AM EST on Saturday, December 3, with our deadline set at 11:49 PM EST on Sunday, December 4… Folks may work on their ideas at any point from during that weekend.
• We do ask that you submit original ideas, which means that the ideas must not have been submitted in their current form to past hackathons or similar innovation competitions… if you are thinking of evolving a past idea in a significant way, let us know & can advise if it’ll be different enough to submit here.
• Each team should have 2-5 members, which can come pre-formed or be finalized before/ during the hackathon with help of the organizers… In terms of helping with team formation, we will have a Slack channel TBA & also do a match-making event the Friday before for folks looking for teams/ teammates.
• Be sure to check eligibility requirements as you make your team… Having a diverse set of people & backgrounds— including in the level of past hackathon experience— will be key!
• During the hackathon, there will be opportunities to attend educational workshops on different issues, some related to developing skills for developing/ presenting your idea (e.g. on pitching), and others on issues around climate change (e.g. on environmental justice)….  Although not finalized, we may have bonus points or incentives to encourage folks to take advantage of these different opportunities.
• In addition, there will be information + resources + advice shared during our intro session, via our Slack and through mentors who will be available at points during the weekend.

A final note that the submission itself with be a four-minute video, with finalists then being invited to present their solutions live at a finals time TBD, likely during the week following the event!