Young Food Change Makers Hackathon

As part of the international project School Food Climate Challenge, high school students from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria met for a two-day hackathon in the pleasant and natural surroundings of the Vienna Woods. The hackathon, a fast-paced and creative problem-solving event, was organised with the aim of creating innovative projects towards more sustainable eating and food management in European schools.

What is a hackathon and how did it work?

A hackathon is an intensive event where groups of people with different skills and experience collaborate to come up with quick and creative solutions to specific problems. For the School Food Climate Challenge Hackathon, students from schools in three countries came together to work on a variety of topics related to the EU Farm to Fork strategy, such as food production, processing, distribution and consumption, as well as food waste prevention. During the hackathon, the students not only tried to design sustainable projects, but also to create a sustainable environment for the hackathon itself. In addition to the work activities, together they worked on preparing tasty, healthy, seasonal and regional food.

The first day was dedicated to working together and generating ideas, while the second day focused on implementing these ideas into concrete projects.

How does a hackathon work for brainstorming solutions to problems in sustainable food-related topics?

Hackathons are an effective tool for solving complex problems because they enable fast and creative collaboration. During the School Food Climate Challenge Hackathon, each group of students was able to approach the problem from a different angle and come up with innovative solutions. Groups had limited time to develop their projects, which encouraged creativity and quick decision-making. Because of this dynamic, hackathon participants were able to quickly generate ideas, test them, and implement them into concrete projects.

Results and perspectives

The School Food Climate Challenge Hackathon resulted in the creation of the foundations of ten projects that have the potential to improve the sustainability of the European food system. These projects were then implemented in partner schools and shared publicly on the project website. The hackathon not only helped to develop concrete solutions, but also fostered community building and collaboration between young people in an effort to influence the future of the European food system.