Between July 20th and July 23th, 55 young people from various islands of Cabo Verde participated in the Blue Youth Hackathon, an initiative which combined climate literacy, science and entrepreneurship to develop innovative solutions for climate action and the future of the ocean.
The initiative was supported by the Climate Action Programme, funded by the Luxembourg Cooperation, and with the presence of the Luxembourg Embassy and the Resident Representative of the Luxembourg Agency for Development and Cooperation, LuxDev, in Cabo Verde.
For three days, adolescents and young people worked in multidisciplinary teams to transform real ocean challenges into concrete proposals. The initiative had financial support and mentoring from the Climate Action Program and was part of the program as a side event of the V International Conference of the Ocean Decade, which took place from July 23rd to July 24th.
The five axes covered smart fisheries and the blue value chain; circular economy; technology and innovation; conservation and climate action; and inclusion, gender, and entrepreneurship. The methodology combined observation, evidence, ideation, prototyping, and public presentation, bringing participants closer to science, communities, the private sector, and public institutions.
Among the concepts presented, Conxi Conxa highlighted women’s, inclusive and community tourism: experiences led by local guides, with appreciation of natural and cultural heritage and commitment to climate and ocean protection.
In numbers
three days of Hackathon
Adolescents and young people
Blue Innovation Challenges
99% of the territory is sea
Evaluating to turn ideas into viable projects
The Resident Representative of LuxDev in Cabo Verde, Yves Dublin, chaired the jury of the Hackathon. The evaluation valued solutions with environmental and social impact, technical feasibility, potential for scale in the island context, innovation, social and gender inclusion and prospects for implementation and financing.
More than rewarding ideas, this process helped the teams to test the relevance of the proposals and identify the necessary steps to turn them into applicable initiatives.
LITERACY + ENTREPRENEURSHIP + SCIENCE = ABILITY TO ACT
Working with young people means creating conditions for knowledge, creativity and participation to be converted into opportunities for employment, innovation and sustainable business – and solutions capable of protecting the ocean on which Cabo Verde depends.
Inês Mourão