Let's hack for a better world
We create real solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, by organizing global hackathons.
Current Hackathon
Access to Medicine hackathon at the World Economic Forum in Davos
In collaboration with Health Equity House and MIT, January 20-24, 2025
Past Hackathons
Engaging 25000+ youth in the global goals
5 events reaching 125 countries
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About us
Dream! Hack!
Build!
Our method & history
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Access to Medicine Hackathon, Davos 2025
Join us for the Access to Medicine Hackathon, a side event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, taking place in the Health Equity House, January 20-24, 2025.
Previous hackathon endeavours
In our mission to create citizen-driven innovation and real solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we have organized several hackathons. Here is a selection of our most prominent hackathon events so far.
Selected organizations we have worked with:
What is Hack For Earth?
Unleash the power of citizen-driven innovation with the power of hackathons, by deploying the unique and action oriented Dream! Hack! Build! method.
What is a hackathon? A hackathon is an event, lasting a few hours up to several days, where people come together to collaborate in teams on projects, with the goal of solving specific challenges.
Dream!
Co-create innovative ideas as input to the hackathon event
Hack!
Hackathon to hack solutions to identified challenges in your organisation
Build!
Build and scale solutions for a sustainable future
Dream!
The Dream phase is a foundational element of the hackathon, designed to establish a robust base for the challenges that will shape the event.
It also serves to positively engage participants before the hackathon commences. Challenges are the core of any hackathon, guiding the direction, solutions, and ultimate outcomes of the event. The way challenges are formulated can significantly influence the results—well-crafted, diverse challenges are key to setting the stage for a successful hackathon.
In this phase, known as Dream!, we harness citizen-driven innovation by inviting our target audience to help craft these challenges. Through a Dream campaign, participants are encouraged to share their visions for the future, fostering deep connections and yielding valuable insights into the priorities and concerns of the community.
This approach allows us to tap into the firsthand experiences of those directly affected by these challenges—insights that organizational leaders may not typically access. This collaborative process not only enriches the hackathon but also strengthens community ties, ensuring that the challenges are both relevant and impactful.
A dream campaign can last for a few days up to a year, depending on the scope and the level of input you wish to create for your campaign. The more people who share their dreams and the more input you get, the more substantial your challenges will be. Another effect is, of course, that you engage with more people too. Read more about Dream for Earth and how to use this tool to engage your audience in our new book.
Hack!
During the hackathon event, participants dive into solving the challenges crafted from the Dream campaign, ensuring that each problem addressed is deeply relevant to their real-world experiences.
This engagement helps to align the efforts of the hacker teams with the actual needs and perspectives of the community, ensuring that they are tackling issues that are relevant.
In the hackathon, the participants work together in teams on a specific challenge, and at the end of the hackathon event the jury selects the winners. Throughout the hackathon, participants collaborate closely with partner organizations, mentors, and jury members. These interactions not only foster a dynamic environment for innovation but also help build new relationships and networking opportunities.
These connections often extend beyond the hackathon, opening doors to future collaborations in various fields. This integrative approach ensures that the solutions developed are not only practical but also supported by a broad spectrum of insights and expertise. Read more on hackathons and how we organize them in our new book.
Build!
Build for Earth marks the crucial final phase of our approach to fostering citizen-driven innovation, where we bring the winning hackathon ideas to life.
Unlike typical hackathons that conclude with a prize ceremony, leaving participants without a clear path forward, Build for Earth ensures the journey continues. Following the excitement of the awards, we initiate a tailored six-month acceleration program designed to transform these innovative concepts into tangible, working solutions.
This phase demonstrates our commitment to sustainable innovation by supporting not just the winners but also enriching the broader hackathon community.
It underscores the message that real, actionable solutions emerge from our events, and that citizen-driven innovation is an important key to a sustainable future for all. Read more about Build for Earth and how we accelerate winning solutions into actionable results in our new book.
The Build for Earth program is grounded in scientific principles and proven strategies that guide new solutions from concept to reality. This structured support is vital for nurturing promising ideas into successful implementations, showcasing our dedication to making a genuine impact through citizen-driven innovation.
