SC Action Climate Virtual Hackathon – 19th – 26th March 2022

What digital solutions can be developed to improve education, raise awareness and ignite human and institutional capacity around climate change? Some examples could include climate change in the areas of food, energy, transportation, consumption, and the built environment (cities).

Virtual Hackathon l 19th – 26th March 2022

R45 000 in total Prize Money

“How irrational it is that that there are countries actually burning more coal and using less solar than they were a decade ago – even as the costs of clean energy have plummeted well below fossil fuel. To paraphrase Einstein – Insanity is continuing to do something that will kill you, even when you know it will. We can’t afford a world so divided in its response to the climate crisis when the evidence is so compelling for action. We have to make choices – together. Life is about choices; you all know that – everybody does; so is governing; so is leading, so this moment requires.” These are the remarks of John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
Vanessa Nakate, one of the young climate activists who were chosen to speak at the COP25 gathering in Spain, said “The world cannot go back to what it used to be. We need to build systems that are more inclusive for everyone. We need to address the issue of climate change and leaders need to take climate action. We need new investments in renewable energy. We need to build systems that ensure basic needs for everyone…Now is the time to value lives like never before. We need a complete turnaround.”
At last year’s COP26 Climate Summit, Sir David Attenborough said: “Our burning of fossil fuels, our destruction of nature, our approach to industry, construction and learning, are releasing carbon into the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace and scale. We are already in trouble. The stability we all depend on is breaking…. Ultimately, all of us will feel the impact, some of which are now unavoidable. Perhaps the fact that the people most affected by climate change are no longer some imagined future generation, but young people alive today, perhaps that will give us the impetus we need to rewrite our story, to turn this tragedy into a triumph…. A new industrial revolution, powered by millions of sustainable innovations, is essential, and is indeed already beginning. We will all share in the benefits. Affordable, clean energy, healthy air and enough food to sustain us all… Can we fix the climate problem in one generation? My answer would be, yes, we have to.”
The 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Goal 13 is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

There are specific targets for each goal, along with indicators that are being used to measure progress toward each target. One of these for SDG 13 is ‘improving education, awareness- raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning’. What digital solutions can be developed to achieve this?

SCHEDULE DETAILS

Day 1: Saturday, 19th March 2022

08:30 – 09:00 Pre-Registration
09:00 – 09:30 Introduction: Welcome and Orientation
Opening Address: Guest Speaker
09:30 – 10:00 Break-out into Groups
10:00 – 13:00 Morning Working Session
11:00 – 13:00 Mentor Session
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:30 Keynote Speaker
14:30 – 16:00 Afternoon Session

Day 2: Sunday, 20th March 2022

08:30 – 09:00 Pre-Registration
09:00 – 09:30 Opening Day 2
Guest Speaker
09:30 – 10:00 Check-In – Present to each other
10:00 – 11:00 Mentor Session
10:00 – 12:40 Morning Session
12:40 – 13:00 Next steps / Close for lunch

 

Lunch & Learn Workshop series

Tuesday 22nd to Friday 26th March 2022
Tuesday: Prototyping with Mark Hopkins from Brite House

Wednesday: Climate Change

Thursday: Sustainability
Friday: Pitch practice with Bertram Richards from Maven Solutions

 

Pitch Day: Saturday 26th March 2022

08:30 – 09:00 Pre-Registration
09:00 – 09:20 Overview of Week
09:20 – 10:40 Team Pitches
10:40 – 12:00 Judges Deliberation
12:00 – 12:25 Judging Feedback
12:25 – 12:30 Closing / Thank you and Next Steps