Karachi Climathon 2019
It is an achievement worth celebrating that youth all around the world is finally getting to the direction of proactivity for climate change mitigation, and Pakistani future-shapers are not behind. Hack Embassy’s Karachi Climathon 2019 is one such endeavor that is getting a very high traction among the youths of Karachi, which is one of the most vulnerable cities to climate crisis in the whole world.
Karachi Climathon was conducted on 25th and 26th of October as a 2-day immersion event, and a very unique experience where all participants got a fantastic glimpse of what it means to solve climate challenges in the current age. It served as an avenue for students, innovators, professionals and other citizens of Karachi to collaborate and form ideas with fellow concerned members of the community to work on tangible change – including local city authorities, experts and researchers, sponsors, media personnels, members of the international community and of course, other participants.
How did Climathon manage to leave an impressive mark among the participants?
Climathon aims to tackle climate challenges faced by us and facilitate the creation of green businesses. The goal of the conference was to inspire participants to take up leadership roles in these challenges, and to connect more karachiites to the 2030 Agenda set by the UN in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Climathon 2019 brought up a great cohort of changemakers in Karachi City to solve the challenges we all face on a daily basis. In these two intesive days, candidates joined hands and made teams to find innovative solutions for the challenges faced by Karachi City, guided by their mentors as provided by Hack Embassy. These candidates included participants from a diverse backgrounds including students, professionals, entrepreneurs, policymakers, citizens who will bring versatility into the solution.
What were key take homes for the participants?
Participants learned how to,
- Help solve Karachi’s biggest challenges and make your city more resilient to climate change.
- Network with local leaders from academia, business, and the public sector.
- Develop skills in public speaking, innovative thinking, prioritization, and explore new startup tools and methodologies.
- Join forces with other like-minded entrepreneurs and innovators.
- Become a part of a global community to create a sustainable future!
Which organizations have been organizing these hackathons and how have the previous renditions been?
Hack Embassy is a youth based innovation hub that provides an interdisciplinary skillset at the crossroads of entrepreneurship, sustainability and technology. With the crisis at hand, Hack embassy has been involved in many such endeavors to think of innovative solutions to solve wicked problems around us.
Hack embassy organized the first-ever Climathon in September 2018 and the response was phenomenal. Coming from the organizers, “the response exceeded all our expectations”. This time around, there were more partners – ranging from National Incubation Center, Pakistan American Cultural Center, Cerb, WomenInTechPk and others, that guaranteed a sure recipe for successful cross-fertilization of ideas. Hence, Hack Embassy succeeded in its aim to surpass the benchmark set by the last ideation event.
finally
We cannot stress this enough that Karachi, at the receiving end of a global crisis has a lot to deal with – ranging from urban heat crisis, burgeoning water shortage, unexpected weather shifts, and pollution and diseases. There is a need that such initiatives are organized in high frequency. It is a great opportunity for Karachiites to give back to the city, to work alongside other changemakers and build a resilient future.
Having said that, it is also a great chance to network with local leaders from academia, business, and the public sector, to develop your skills in public speaking, innovative thinking, prioritization, and to explore new startup tools and methodologies.
Lets build the future together!
