UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2025: Lead with MIL Solutions & Win a Trip to the Global MIL Week 2025 in Colombia (Deadline: 15 August, 2025)
Ready to turn your ideas into impact? Join youth around the world in building solutions for today’s information challenges.
This year’s theme is “Youth Leading the Way: Building MIL Solutions for Impact.” Winning teams will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Cartagena, Colombia, to present their projects at the Global MIL Week 2025 Closing Ceremony!
About the Youth Hackathon
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 rise 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.
- 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
UNESCO invites young changemakers to join this global event:
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- 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!
Teams can choose one or more of the following focus areas:
- AI and MIL: Innovative solutions addressing challenges posed by AI through MIL
- MIL Education: Creative approaches to MIL learning in the digital age
- Community Impact: MIL-based interventions that empower communities
- Youth Engagement: Strategies to position youth organizations as MIL change agents
- Open Track: Other MIL-related ideas aligned with this year’s theme
Your proposal can be one of the following categories:
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- Games
- Applications/Websites
- Radio programmes/Podcasts
- Artistic work such as comics, short videos, documentaries, etc.
- Educational toolkits
- Youth organization campaigns
- Community-based interventions
- Other creative modalities for innovative interventions
- Please complete the registration form with accurate information about you or your team.
- All registered participants (including their team members) would be invited to participate in the free online mentoring program in August before the final submission.
How To Apply
Each team must prepare two components, which can be submitted in English.
1. Proposal Document (PDF or Word)
- Include team members, problem statement, objectives, target audience, prototype or concept, sustainability, creativity, and feasibility
- Keep it clear, concise, well-structured and readable
2. Pitch Video (max. 3 minutes)
Create a short video that showcases your project idea in a clear and engaging way. This is your chance to bring your concept to life and convince the jury of its value.
- Tell the story behind your idea: What problem are you solving, and why does it matter?
- Explain your solution: What is your project? How does it work? Who will benefit from it?
- Highlight originality and impact: What makes your idea unique or meaningful? What kind of impact it would have?
The submission link will be shared in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for updates.
- 31 Jul – 15 Aug 2025: Registration
- 8 Aug – 1 Sep 2025: Submission
- 1 – 12 Sep 2025: Evaluation
- 24 October 2025: Winners’ Presentation
All submitted projects will be assessed by international jury members based on the following criteria:
| Categories | Details | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity of Presentation | The idea is clearly communicated through the pitch and materials. The team shows relevant skills, diversity, and potential to implement the project. | 20 |
| Consistency with the Theme | The project aligns closely with the core theme of the hackathon and Media and Information Literacy principles are meaningfully embedded in the solution. | 20 |
| Innovation and Creativity | The project offers an original, fresh, or inventive approach to addressing the challenge. | 20 |
| Feasibility and Sustainability | The solution is realistic to implement, considers resources, and has potential for long-term impact or scalability. | 20 |
| Impact & Inclusion | The project addresses a real problem, promotes social good, and considers the needs of diverse or marginalized communities. | 20 |
- For any question, please contact us: MILunit@unesco.org
Application Deadline
- August 15, 2025
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND APPLY
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