UNLEASH

UNLEASH Hacks

UNLEASH Hacks are local innovation sprints for young people to address their region’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Hacks are organized by members of the UNLEASH Community and provide participants with the right tools and skills to develop new ideas and solutions with positive local impact.

The Innovation Process

During the Hacks, participants are working with the UNLEASH methodology, based on human-centered design principles. The two-day program zooms in on the following stages of the innovation process:

Problem Framing

Defining a problem based on user needs and clear insights

Ideation

Brainstorming and selecting ideas to solve the problem

Prototyping

Creating simple versions of the idea to understand how it will work in real life

Testing

Testing the solution with users, learning, and adapting

Implementing

Planning and launching impactful solutions

Hacks Features

Localized Icon
Localized

UNLEASH Hacks are defined and developed by locals for locals, activating passionate youth, local stakeholders and community leaders to collectively address sustainability challenges they are close to.

Compact Innovation Processes Icon
Compact Innovation
Processes

UNLEASH Hacks provide a unique learning opportunity for young people all around the world. The compact program enables participants to explore their creativity and discover tools for developing innovative ideas in just two days!

Community-Led

The Hacks are led by our global network of talented UNLEASH Community members. They organize the Hacks and select pressing local challenges to tackle collectively while gaining leadership skills and spreading innovation tools among local youth.

Localized Icon
Localized

UNLEASH Hacks are defined and developed by locals for locals, activating passionate youth, local stakeholders and community leaders to collectively address sustainability challenges they are close to.

Community-Led

The Hacks are led by our global network of talented UNLEASH Ambassadors. They organize the Hacks and select pressing local challenges to tackle collectively, while gaining leadership skills and spreading innovation tools among local youth.

Compact Innovation
Processes

UNLEASH Hacks provide a unique learning opportunity for young people all around the world. The compact program enables participants to explore their creativity and discover tools for developing innovative ideas in just two days!

Who can apply?

You can participate in any Hack, even if you do not live near, as long as you feel connected to the community or the challenge that the Hack tackles.
Hacks are open to young people between the ages of 20 and 35. We select participants that are:
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Passionate and committed to addressing sustainability challenges

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Creative and innovative

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Motivated to collaborate and co-create with peers and experts

UNLEASH Climate Action Partnership Hack

Climate change is a complex challenge that extends beyond geographies and industries. To make a real difference, we need collective action to amplify local initiatives and knowledge sharing across communities. In this Hack, in collaboration with Last Mile Climate, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Center, GPA (the Global Platform for Action), and the IKEA Foundation, teams will work on finding solutions that bring partnerships to the forefront of these 3 different themes, with a focus on refugee and displacement settings in Sub-Saharan Africa:

  1. Solar-electric cooking solutions
  2. Recycling and bridging informal and formal waste management ecosystems
  3. Engaging local communities in reforestation projects

This Hack will happen in 3 locations simultaneously (Denmark, Kenya and Uganda) on March 19, 2024.

Applications are now closed.

UNLEASH Hack Morocco:
AI for disaster risk reduction

In response to the recent environmental challenges witnessed in the North Africa region, including the earthquake in Morocco, the storm in Libya, and the wildfires in Algeria, the UNLEASH Hack Morocco Team, in collaboration with the Africa Youth Advisory Board on DRR (AYAB-DRR) and the African Consulting Club (ACC), has taken the initiative to organize a hackathon focusing on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This event serves as a collaborative platform for ideation, youth empowerment, policy recommendations formulation, and the development of innovative solutions in alignment with SDG 10, SDG 11, and SDG 13.

The Hack is scheduled to take place from February, Friday 23 through Sunday 25.

Applications are now closed.

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Passionate and committed to addressing sustainability challenges

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Creative and innovative

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Motivated to collaborate and co-create with peers and experts

Previous Hacks

Solutions from Previous Hacks

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