On Sunday, the French Embassy in Bahrain and the Youth Pioneer Society concluded the first Edition of the “Green Youth hackathon” entitled: Sustainability and Climate Change. This project is organized by the Youth Pioneer Society in strategic cooperation with the French Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and with the Bahrain Scientific Center for Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Development Program in Bahrain, the Collective Hub, Upgradelle and Fives Gulf Services as the sponsor of the event.
Ms. Ameera Mahmood, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Youth Pioneer Society, stated that the first edition of the “Green Youth Hackathon” aimed to support and develop economically sustainable projects that enhance Goals 12 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals, by engaging participants in workshops that help them design a community entrepreneurship project. Then, it was presented to a professional jury to choose the best innovative and sustainable project.
Ms. Ameera explained that the organization of this hackathon comes within the framework of achieving the objectives of the Society aimed at refining the skills and capabilities of youth in the Kingdom of Bahrain, promoting a culture of social innovation and providing training and educational opportunities to contribute to making young people able to find innovative solutions to face local and global challenges and achieve their goals and the goals of sustainable development. She indicated that the Society hopes that the projects of the participating groups will be developed by the concerned authorities and transformed into a tangible reality that serves the community and helps achieve sustainable development.
For his part, the Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Kingdom of Bahrain, HE Mr. Jérôme Cauchard, said: “Youth has always been at the heart of French Embassy’s initiatives in Bahrain. We believe that entrepreneurship has a powerful tool to empower young people and to enhance their creativity. Furthermore, by focusing on environment and sustainability, the projects will go beyond the economy and will have a positive environmental and social impact.”
The closing ceremony of the hackathon included the presentation of projects submitted by the participating teams and the announcement of the winning project of the hackathon award, in the presence of representatives of the public and private sectors and a number of specialists and interested parties.
Smart Gravel, a startup that produces, from plastic waste, artificial aggregates that avoids the use of natural aggregates, reduces the carbon footprint and operating costs of handling and producing construction materials with a low CO2 footprint.
This innovative solution around the construction industry’s circular economy was presented by Abdulla Alaali, Feras Alshowaikh, Areej Salah & Safa Haji.