🌍 Youth Hackathon 2025

Youth Leading the Way - Building MIL Solutions for Impact

The Youth Hackathon is a flagship initiative of UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, empowering young people worldwide to address urgent challenges in today’s digital information landscape, including AI, mis- and disinformation, online hate speech, platform dominance, and threats to information integrity.

Following the success of the 2024 edition with 202 teams from 68 countries, UNESCO is ready for an even more impactful 2025 edition. Under this year’s theme, youth aged 18 to 30 are invited to collaborate, innovate, and lead. All participants will receive free online mentoring by international experts before final submission. Winning teams will present their projects at the Global MIL Week Conference on 23-24 October 2025 in Cartagena, Colombia, with flight and accommodation covered by UNESCO.

🕒 Timeline

⏳ Registration: 31 July - 15 August 2025
👩‍🏫 Mentoring Programme: 19 - 20 August 2025
📤 Submission: 8 August - 1 September 2025
⚖️ Evaluation: 1 - 12 September 2025
🏆 Winners Presentation: 24 October 2025

🎯 Objectives

🎓 Empower youth: Promote critical thinking and agency in the digital age
💡 Foster innovation: Encourage youth-led ownership of solutions
📣 Amplify youth voices: Ensure ideas are heard, recognized and supported
🔧 Generate impact: Produce actionable insights with real-world value
✅ Certificate: All participants who complete their submission will receive a UNESCO certificate

✅ Eligibility

👥 Team size: 3–6 members (national, regional, or international)
🔢 Age range: 18–30 years old
🤝 Values: Teams should align with UNESCO values including peace, respect for diversity and freedom of expression
⚖️ Inclusion: Gender balance and inclusion are highly encouraged
🚀 Experience: No prior experience required, only passion and motivation

🚀 Challenge Tracks

🤖 AI and MIL: Solutions addressing AI challenges through MIL
📚 MIL Education: Creative approaches to MIL learning in the digital age
🌱 Community Impact: MIL interventions that empower local communities
🙋 Youth Engagement: Strategies to position youth organizations as MIL change agents
🔓 Open Track: Other MIL-related ideas aligned with the theme

🏆 Prizes

🏅 Invitation to Present at Global MIL Week 2025: Winning teams will be invited to present their projects at the Global MIL Week Conference in Cartagena, Colombia with flights and accommodation covered by UNESCO.
📜 UNESCO Certificates: Certificates awarded to participants who complete their submission.
🌐 Global Exposure: Networking opportunities with international experts, policymakers and fellow innovators, opening doors to future collaborations and funding.