Over 60 teenage participants participated in an intensive 3-day Hackathon on October 22-24, 2021 in order to design and build sustainable cities following the UNICEF-led Child-Friendly City Initiative. Teams developed 16 successful prototypes that took interest from representatives of multiple business leaders, government officials, education leaders, and partner organizations who served as mentors and jury members during the event.

The event was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania and organised together with Katalista Ventures - a Triple Top Line startup accelerator and equity fund in partnership with UNICEF Lithuania, UNICEF Sweden, UNICEF Iceland, Lietuvos Junior Achievement and Reach for Change, and with the support of numerous friends of the hackathon like ROCKIT, DIGIKLASE, Startup Lithuania, Govtech Lab among other organizations. Together, they work towards transforming the Nordic and Baltic region into one that really listens to its younger citizens.

This hackathon achieved the goal of strengthening children’s involvement in the Nordic-Baltic region. The partners believe that children have to be heard and involved in the development of future cities. As the hackathon aimed to produce child-friendly city solutions, as well as facilitate and strengthen the friendships between young adults in the Nordic-Baltics - over 60 teenagers from Nordics and Baltics were collaborating, developing and getting to know each other, while competing for the prizes provided by the partners of the hackathon.

Throughout the hackathon, the teams had access to 4 workshops organized by international organisations, listened to 4 inspiring keynote speakers, had over 90 mentorship sessions, and participated in demo day pitches judged by top international experts from related industries.

The solutions developed by the teams during the event ranged from traffic safety devices for bicycle and scooter riders to creative ways for children to express themselves and socialize as well as solutions for interior and exterior sustainable design to make buildings greener.

Team Green Bees from Lithuania, who developed a business case for placing beehives on the roofs of corporate, industrial, and residential buildings won the first prize of 1 000 Euros.

Team Firda from Norway, who prototyped a welcoming youth center for their community that can be replicated all around the world won a study trip to Copenhagen to visit the Nordic Council of Ministers Headquarters.

Team Green Wave from Estonia, who is developing a prototype for making schools and offices greener by transforming their interior, won tickets to the event organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers - Regeneration 2030.

The rest of the teams also got prizes such as mentorship sessions from Katalista Ventures and ROCKIT, fifteen memberships of DIGIKLASE and Gift for the Planet.