Youth For Climate Hackathon’ – ICLEI South Asia

‘Adaptation to Climate Change | Solutions for South Asian Cities’

 


The Youth and Sustainability team at ICLEI South Asia launches the ‘Youth for Climate Hackathon’. Aimed at bringing together young minds to develop innovative, scalable, and impactful solutions to the climate crisis, the hackathon integrates the COP30 Agenda and ICLEI Pathways to ensure creative ideas can transition into actionable projects contextual to the South Asia region.

Themed ‘ Adaptation to Climate Change | Solutions for South Asian Cities ’, the hackathon will be open from 25 April 2025 to young adults based in South Asia between ages 18 and 25.

Under ICLEI South Asia’s pioneering leadership, the hackathon will be supported by knowledge platforms and networks. Regional partners in the youth and sustainability space will support in the dissemination, participation and conducting webinars on climate from April-October 2025. Winner/s will be felicitated at the ICLEI South Asia Flagship event on 8 October 2025 with the Ritu Thakur Memorial Award for Sustainability. This award commemorates Ritu Thakur, our young colleague at ICLEI South Asia, who was dedicated in her cause for sustainability.

Details of the hackathon:

1. Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Age group: Participants should be between 18 and 25 years old.
  2. Geographic eligibility: Open to participants from South Asian countries.
  3. Participant backgrounds: Welcoming students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and startups working in sustainability and innovation.
  4. Participation from diverse fields – Climate enthusiasts, urban planners, environment planners, social science, economics, mobility, energy, biodiversity, and other fields.
  5. Team Composition: Teams can have 1 to 4 members to encourage individual participation and collaboration.

2. Theme: Adaptation to Climate Change | Evidence-based Innovative Solutions for South Asian Cities

3. Expected output of the hackathon: Select a city and develop context-specific innovative solutions tailored to the real-time challenges of the city, addressing any specific needs and priorities.

4. Submission Format:

  •  A1 size Poster Presentation
  •  A4 Summary of 500 words (1 page, font size 11) – Problem statement, proposed solutions, feasibility, scalability, sustainability impact.

5. Evaluation:

  1. Internal Round – checking the eligibility criteria
  2. External Jury Round – selection of top 5 ideas
  3. Presentation of the Top 5 ideas
  4. Announcing the winners

6. Criteria for selection:

  1. Depth of understanding of the issue – 15 points
  2. Contextual relevance of the solution – 15 points
  3. Innovation and creativity – 20 points
  4. Feasibility and practicality – 15 points
  5. Potential for scalability – 10 points
  6. Sustainability impact – 15 points
  7. Alignment with relevant SDGs – 10 points

Total 100 points scoring mechanism

7. Guidelines for poster submission:

  1. Identify the Challenge/Problem
  2. Needs and priorities for the selected city
  3. Outline the concept for the innovative solution
  4. Detail out the Local Actions/ Strategies/ Practical Solutions to be adopted or implemented
  5. Potential Impacts/Outcomes

8. Awards & Recognition: Winners get prize money and opportunities to intern with ICLEI South Asia

How is this hackathon different?

  • Participants will tackle real-world challenges faced by cities, businesses, and policymakers.
  • Winning ideas receive financial support and internship opportunities.
  • The hybrid format enables both virtual and in-person participation for South Asian youth.
  • Solutions will be mapped to relevant SDGs for measurable impact.
  • The event will provide the youth with networking opportunities.
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