We are here with an exciting International Hackathon competition, offered by one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations, that you should not miss. Applications are now open for the UNESCO Global Youth Hackathon Competition 2025. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization), through its official portal, has recently announced “Youth Hackathon”, a flagship initiative of UNESCO’s Global Media & Information Literacy (MIL) Week that aims to empower young intellectuals from all around the world to tackle pressing challenges in today’s digital information era such as Misinformation spread by the use of AI (Artificial Intellgience), Hate speeches, Platform dominance and threat to information integrity.
The objective of the Youth hackathon is to gather young people aged 18-30 years from worldwide to collaborate, innovate, and bring their ideas into existence. All the participants will get online training from the renowned international experts before the final submission. The successful teams will have an opportunity to attend a Global MIL Week Conference that is scheduled to take place in Cartagena, Colombia, from October 23-24, 2025. All the costs related to the conference will be borne by the host organization, such as Flight and accommodation. To know more details about the program, read the information below.
UNESCO Global Youth Hackathon 2025 Overview
- Host Organization: UNESCO
- Open for: All Nationals
- Location: Remote, Colombia
- Programme: Youth Hackathon
- Coverage: Fully Funded
- Application Deadline: August 15th, 2025
Also, Check: Turkish Language and Culture Program 2025
Hackathon 2025 Theme
The hackathon revolves around an exciting theme of “Youth Leading the way: Building MIL solution for impact,” which focuses on empowering youth to tackle innovative responses to the pressing digital information challenges
Eligibility Criteria
Changemakers meeting the following criteria are invited to submit their applications for the UNESCO Youth Hackathon
- Accepting applications from all nationals
- A team of 3-6 members (International, Regional, or national)
- The individual’s age must be between 18-30 years at the time of application
- Team must align with UNESCO values such as peace, diversity & respect
- There is no experience requirement to participate in the Hackathon
Coverage
The winning teams will be invited to attend the MIL Week conference in Colombia with complete flight coverage and accommodation covered by the host organization (UNESCO)
Focus Areas
The teams can select from any of the following focus areas:
- AI & MIL: Innovative solution for addressing challenges posed by AI
- MIL Education: Creative approaches to MIL learning in the digital era
- Community Impact: MIL-Based intervention to empower communities
- Youth Engagement: Position youth organizations as MIL change agents
- Open Track: More MIL-related ideas aligned with the 2025 theme
Proposal Submission:
Teams can submit a proposal in one of the following categories:
- Games
- Youth organization campaigns
- Educational toolkits
- Community-based interventions
- Radio programmes/Podcasts
- Artistic work such as comics, short videos, documentaries, etc.
- Other creative modalities for innovative interventions
- Applications/Websites
Also, Check:
Youth Hackathon 2025 Timeline
Registration (31 July – 15 August, 2025)
- Register before the due date to book your slot for the online mentoring programme
Mentoring Programme (19-20 August 2025)
- An online training session led by experts for all participants who have registered
Submission ( 8 August – 1 September 2025)
- Submit the project proposal through the UNESCO website
Winners Presentation (October 24, 2025)
- The winning team will be invited to Colombia to present their project
Evaluation Criteria
The projects will be evaluated by the international Jury based on the following evaluation criteria:
| Evaluation Criteria | Weightage |
|---|---|
| Project Presentation Clarity | 20 |
| Consistency with Theme | 20 |
| Creativity & Innovation | 20 |
| Feasibility | 20 |
| Inclusion and Impact | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
How to Apply for the Global Youth Hackathon?
Applicants who are interested in participating in the Hackathon need to submit their application via the UNESCO official portal. Interested applicants need to prepare two components for the application :(1) Proposal Document, (2) Pitch Video. Visit the official link below to read more details and apply. Best of Luck.
