The Youth Hackathon is a flagship initiative of UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, empowering young people worldwide to tackle urgent challenges in today’s digital information landscape. These include the rie of AI, the spread of mis- and disinformation, online hate speech, platform dominance, and threats to information integrity.
Following the success of the 2024 edition – which brought together 202 teams from 68 countries – UNESCO is gearing up for an even more impactful 2025 edition.
Under this year’s theme, Youth Leading the Way: Building MIL solutions for Impact, UNESCO calls for youth aged 18 to 30 to collaborate, innovate, and lead with their ideas. All participants will benefit from free online mentoring by international experts before the final submission. Winning teams will be invited to present their projects at the Global MIL Week Conference on 23-24 October 2025 in Cartagena, Colombia – with flight and accommodation covered by UNESCO.
Objectives
- Empower youth and promote critical thinking in the digital age
- Foster innovation and youth-led ownership
- Amplify youth voices and ensure they are heard, recognized, and supported
- Generate actionable insights with real-world impact .
Who Can Participate?
UNESCO invites young changemakers to join this global event:
- Teams of 3–6 members (national, regional, or international)
- All team members must be 18–30 years old
- Teams should align with UNESCO’s values, including peace, respect for diversity, and freedom of expression
- Gender balance and inclusion are highly encouraged
- No prior experience required—only passion and motivation!
