Louth County Council lead Irish event in EU Climate Hackathon
Cork Smart Gateway will also lead the initiative
Louth County Council and Cork Smart Gateway are hosting an online hackathon to develop technological or social innovation solutions among citizens and researchers.
The hackathon is part of the EU Sparks for Climate: European Citizens Hackathon Championship, an initiative supported by the European Commission and aligned with the European knowledge valorisation policy and two of the European Missions: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change.
The Irish round of this EU event is being held between the 15th -18th May 20204 and is open to citizens from all across Ireland.
Committed citizens and researchers have been sought to join forces to develop new solutions for climate.
With this call to action, the EU Sparks for Climate: Citizen Hackathon Championship invited participation in this virtual competition for knowledge valorization and development of technological and social innovation solutions to address climate challenges and support two of the missions set by the European Union: the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
From May to June 2024, 22 virtual local hackathons will be held between teams formed by citizens and researchers in all EU Member States and six associated countries.
There will be two winning teams for each local hackathon, 44 in total. These teams will receive a dedicated training and coaching programme to sharpen their skills with learning modules on management, entrepreneurship, sustainability, social impact, research valorization and intellectual property.
After the training and coaching, the teams will present their solutions in the EU final, in which three winning teams will be chosen.
In addition to receiving cash prizes (€5,000 for each winning team), the winning teams will receive, for example, tailored mentorship, support for a crowdfunding campaign, access to the angel investor network and support to escalate their solution.
In order to participate, citizens proposed a climate challenge that they consider relevant within their community, city, or region, while researchers must bring their expertise to team with the citizens and join forces to develop the solutions. The hackathons, co-organised by local hosts in different cities of Europe, will be developed virtually for four days, through a dedicated methodology that will foster networking, dynamisation and innovation processes.
In the case of the Irish event, the organisation of the hackathon is supported by Louth County Council and Cork Smart Gateway as local hosts, and is taking place from 15 to 18 May.
David Hanratty, Senior Engineer in the Sustainability Section, Louth County Council said: "Louth Council are seeking innovative solutions from communities that address real-world climate adaptation issues. Coastal erosion, extreme rainfall and droughts are issues that are becoming increasingly common in Ireland.
“Louth County Council are leading out at a local level on climate action and are a full member of the EU Mission, Adaptation to Climate Change."
EU Sparks for Climate: Citizens Hackathon Championship is a programme supported by the European Commission, and implemented by a consortium led by Barrabés.biz in collaboration with Energy Cities, European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA), European Citizen Science Association's (ECSA), and The European Crowdfunding Network AISBL (EUROCROWD).