More than 300 ideas to sustainably tackle food waste were presented by 150 youth this weekend at the ‘Sustainability Hackathon’, organised by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), in partnership with the Information & Communication Technology Fund (ICT Fund) and powered by BEEAH Education, the environmental education, awareness and awarding organisation of BEEAH Group from May 19 to May 21. The event was held in line with the UAE celebrating 2023 as the Year of Sustainability ahead of the nation hosting the prestigious COP 28 later this year.

The event focused on exploring solutions centered around sustainability in food waste, as chosen by the hackathon’s challenge partner BEEAH Education, driving young entrepreneurs to develop creative and innovative solutions. The overarching goal was to foster a sense of responsibility and empower young minds to actively contribute to a more sustainable world.

Four teams were selected from the 10 finalist groups that competed in advanced segments of the hackathon meeting experts and receiving mentorship, developing prototypes,and pitching their project to industry leaders.

Inculcating design thinking at a deeper level among Emirati youth, the intensive weekend bootcamp was designed to enable participants to practice and implement the design thinking process, emphasising experimentation and validation, to gain a deep understanding of complex challenges and generate innovative solutions to real-life problems.

Sheraa has pledged to reinforce the winners of the hackathon with further support, including access to mentorship, validation bootcamps, summer incubation programmes, and community-building initiatives, aimed at helping them bring their solutions to life and launch successful ventures.