From 1 to 6 August, the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) held the long awaited event of the year – the Rural Youth Hackathon. This activity was broadly organised according to the concept of the classic hackathon: training, exchange of ideas, motivation, teamwork on a project, mentoring, presentation of the project ideas – all these within a very short time. Given the specifics of the YEP project, the Rural Youth Hackathon was geared towards identifying solutions to the problems faced by young people in rural communities of Moldova.
The Hackathon was attended by 75 young people representing 29 communities of the Republic of Moldova. The trainers who facilitated this event were from Estonia, the company named Garage 48. The company has extensive experience in organising such types of complex events.
The event was the culmination of the series of activities, which have been organised by iRi and local partners over 3 years within the YEP project.
The young people present at the event were divided into 12 teams. During 4 days the young people worked non-stop on the project idea and business plan that had to solve one or more problems faced by young people in Moldova.
The whole process has been set in a competitive framework, as it is in the real world. Equally, for all 12 teams, the conditions of the competition were explained and they were provided with tools and mentoring.
Finally, following an evaluation process, 6 of the most innovative and well-grounded projects were selected as winners. The winning projects range from digital solutions to bike parks and online libraries for young people. The total prize value is $15,500 (from $4,000 grand prize to $1,000). In addition to this, the young people in attendance were able to nominate their “People’s Choice Award”. Thus, one of the 6 projects that received the most votes from young people was awarded a special prize.
All teams will have the advantage to get additional mentoring sessions from mentors’ part to successfully implement the winning projects.
The youth empowerment process keeps on going!
The activity is part of the “Rural Youth Empowerment Programme” (YEP), implemented by the Institute for Rural Initiatives in Moldova (iRi) in partnership with the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP), Ohio, USA, with financial support from the US Department of State.
Some impressions from the Hackathon:
“The Hackathon was an opportunity for personal development, both as a leader, individually, and as a member of initiative group. I am extremely pleased that I had the opportunity to take part in this Hackathon and I will definitely put the knowledge I gained into development of my community.” – Iulia Scripnic told, the member of the initiative group, village of Boscana, Criuleni district.
“A new experience for me, as well as for young people in our country. I saw young people got very interested. Personally I was charged with energy, new ideas, different visions, I met nice people with big hearts. I will try to implement the knowledge I gained in my daily life. I wish to see as many projects as possible where young people could participate, thus keeping them awake to reality.” – Tatiana Todos said, young representative of LPA, vilage of Tataresti, Cahul district.
“The Rural Youth Hackathon event left a very pleasant impression: brainstorming, efficient teamwork, ups and downs, arguments and solutions. It was 5 days of a well organised event. We had the opportunity to get mobilised in search for a problem and identify the solution. We thank all our partners for the opportunity to show the potential of young people from the South of Moldova.” – Mihail Rotari said, the representative of NGO GagauzMedya, town of Comrat.
“What made this Hackathon and the events around it outstanding for us was active participation and hard work of the participants. I felt they were truly motivated and ready to learn new skills and gain experience needed to make a change in their communities… and it was really great to see that.” – Kadri Tiisvelt said, COO and administrative board member at Garage48.
“The Rural Youth Hackathon was a major event…carefully planned and successfully implemented. It’s beyond our expectations… It was for the first time that such an event is specially organised for rural youth in Moldova. This activity is part of iRi’s efforts to empower rural youth in the most practical way.” – Tatiana Costev-Cosuleanu said, the Executive Director, iRi.
You can see the photo album of the event on the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) Facebook page: