Reporting Press Release ”Young Peoples Hackathon” 22-23 June 2023

The Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs – I.R.T.E.A. successfully organized an international event titled “Young People’s Hackathon” on June 22nd and 23rd, 2023, at the Triaena Business Center, located at 15 Mesogeion Avenue. The event brought together 55 young participants and representatives from municipalities of Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and Italy. The event was part of the “Digital Civic Participation v2.0 (DCP v2.0)” program, funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values program of the European Union (CERV-2021-CITIZENS-TOWN).

On the first day, Ms. Despina Papadaki opened the event, welcoming the attendees and presenting the program for the two-day event, as well as the purpose of the gathering. Following that, Ms. Ioanna Chatziantoniou and Mr. Nikos Antonakakis, Project Officers at I.R.T.E.A., presented the Institute of Research and Training on European Affairs, its activities, and the structure and purpose of the D.C.P v2.0 project.

After a short coffee break, a conference titled “Conference on Digital Participatory Democracy” took place. The panel discussion included Ms. Konstantina Ais, responsible for promotion and communication of the Erasmus+ / Youth program at INEDIVIM, who presented the funding opportunities provided by Erasmus+. Mr. Giorgis Chronas from Crowd Policy, a company that offers digital participatory tools, introduced the applications of Crowd Apps. A comprehensive cloud suite for cities, municipalities, regions, and local communities.
Lastly, Ms. Despina Papadaki, on behalf of the Institute of Research and Training on European Affairs, presented the challenges and opportunities of using digital tools by youth workers and the Institute’s contribution to the education and familiarization of youth workers with these tools.

The audience showed particular interest in the presentations of the guests, which was reflected in the subsequent world café session among the attendees and participants of the event. During the world café session, opportunities and perspectives of using digital participation tools in partner countries were highlighted, along with personal experiences shared by the participants.
After the lunch break, a roundtable discussion with experts took place. The discussion involved Ms. Konstantina Kottaridi, Professor of Economics at the University of Piraeus, who presented the program “VR in School Education & Civic Participation.” Programm that worked as a Good Practice on Digital Participatory Tools the next day of the event.
She also explained how the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations can be achieved through the use of digital tools.

Following that Mr. Nikolaos Moraitakis, Advisor and Administrator of European Programs, presented the Innovation Business Observatory (IBO) platform, as a tool for promoting youth entrepreneurship in Crete. The IBO is a permanent structure of the Crete Region aimed at connecting businesses with research and academic institutions and showcasing the innovation ecosystem of the region.

The day continued with presentations by the project partners on the digital tools they selected to be part of the online campaign that started on June 8th, 2023, and concluded on June 20th. The campaign aimed to highlight three tools that could be implemented as good practices at the European level. The campaign received a total of 369 votes from the five partner countries (Greece, Italy, Romania, Poland, and Lithuania), and this process identified the three tools that became the focus of the participants’ work on the following day:
– Com’ON CITY – Romania 26.6%
– VR Application – Greece 15.4%
– Youth Thematic Years – Romania 14.4%
The second day began with team-building activities to foster a better sense of teamwork among the participants, leading up to the two Hackathon Sessions.
During the sessions, the participants were divided into three groups, each examining one of the digital participation tools: Com’ ON City, VR Application, and Youth Thematic Years.
In the first session, the participants were tasked with identifying the needs covered by the tool they were examining from each partner country, defining the common goal it addresses, and determining the necessary actions/changes to ensure the sustainability of the tool over time.

In the second session, after completing the tasks from the first session, the groups conducted a SWOT analysis, assuming that the tools were implemented in all partner countries.
Finally, each group presented the results of the two sessions, which yielded particularly interesting outcomes.
The results of this event will be included in the handbook produced at the end of the D.C.P v2.0 project, which contains material from the entire implementation process.
Follow the project’s social media channels to stay updated on its activities.
The report for this Event is available here.