SourceUNESCO

Deadline: 12 October 2020

What can youth do to counter disinfodemic, using media and information literacy as a tool? HackingDisinfodemic – a Global Media and Information Literacy Youth Hackathon led by UNESCO and the Republic of Korea will seek to answer this question, in partnership with the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), and IBM. The call for applications is now launched globally.

 

About HackingDisinfodemic

COVID-19 has confronted the world with a new wave of disinformation. Media and information literate youth have a pivotal role to play to resolve this challenge. HackingDisinfodemic is a global competition on MIL targeting youth, organized in the framework of Global MIL Week 2020, which will be commemorated from 24 to 31 October, under the theme of “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for Everyone and by Everyone”.

UNESCO and partners are calling on youth worldwide to participate in this four-week virtual hackathon to design innovative solutions to disinfodemic and related online challenges.

The Hackathon will follow the theme of MIL against disinfodemic. It complements the mainstreaming of young men and women in the Global MIL Week In-Focus Sessions by enabling more significant youth leadership. Youth from local schools, universities, youth centres and youth organizations, as well as youth leaders from around the globe, are invited to participate. The winning teams and the outcome of the Hackathon will be presented during a dedicated online Press Conference on 27 October 2020.

This initiative builds on the first Global MIL Hackathon organized during Global MIL Week 2018, and the CodeTheCurve Hackathon organized by UNESCO earlier this year.

Timeline

  • 5-12 October 2020: Call for applications
  • 13 October 2020: Announcement of shortlisted participants
  • 14-15 October 2020: Two-day mentoring on MIL and the hackathon
  • 16 and 19 October 2020: Two-day hacking
  • 19 October 2020: Submission of pitches
  • 20-23 October 2020: Judging process
  • 23 October 2020: Announcement of winners
  • 27 October 2020: Press Conference “Youth Tackling the Disinfodemic: Outcome of the Global MIL Youth Hackathon”

Eligibility

Any person or group of persons who are of ages between 18 and 35 years and adheres to the values of UNESCO*. No previous coding background is required. Experience and expertise in game, mobile application, website and radio development would be an asset.

 

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