Water4Future Hackathon: solutions that flow naturally
One hundred and forty high school students from three continents took part in the Water4Future Hackathon on March 18, 19, and 21. Organized by the UNESCO Icireward International Center and the University of Montpellier, this fifth edition focused on the theme of "Water, Crises, and Resilience." The Samuel Beckett International French High School in Ireland took the top spot on the podium, while the Madelaine Daniélou School Group in Ivory Coast and the Jules Guesde High School in Montpellier were the favorites of the 2024 edition.
What if it were possible to take inspiration from a beetle living in the desert to capture fog and turn it into drinking water; to sell or buy treated wastewater at competitive prices on a new second-hand water market platform; or even treat water directly from a river in a village in Côte d'Ivoire to prevent its inhabitants from having to boil it every time they use it? These three ideas did not come from a science fiction film, but from the brilliant minds of the high school students who won the fifth edition of the Water4Future High School Hackathon.
48 hours flat
There were 140 participants at the starting line, ready to take on the challenge from their institutions in Europe (Montpellier, Castelnau-le-Lez, Perpignan, Marseille, Reunion Island, Germany, Ireland), Africa (Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast), North America (United States), and South America (Bolivia). Their mission? To come up with sustainable technical, regulatory, and/or social solutions to water issues at the local and international levels in just 48 hours. Difficulties in accessing drinking water, early droughts, water restrictions, extreme floods, flooding... The issue of water is now crucial on every continent and represents a major challenge today and for future generations.
To meet this challenge, high school students worked simultaneously, either in person or via video conferencing, to come up with innovative projects. The various teams were supported throughout the process by professionals and experts in the field. At the end of the 48 hours, the students presented their solutions to a jury, which awarded prizes to the best projects.
Six prizes
First prize was awarded to the Samuel Beckett International French High School in Ireland for its beetle-inspired project. Second prize went to the Französisches Gymnasium French High School in Berlin, which designed a solidarity app for requesting or offering help in the event of flooding. The Françoise Combes school complex in France also came up with a solution to flooding: small polymer beads that can absorb water and release it again within two weeks. They won third prize. Finally, the two "Coup de cœur" prizes went to the Lycée Jules Guesde in Montpellier for its second-hand water market platform and the Madelaine Daniélou school group in Côte d'Ivoire for its water treatment system directly connected to the river in a village in northern Côte d'Ivoire. See you next year, hoping that water will continue to flow under the bridges.
The UNESCO Icireward Center
The UNESCO ICIREWARD International Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Water Systems Dynamics, located in Montpellier, brings together and strengthens collaboration between nearly 480 scientists and 180 doctoral students in 17 research laboratories. The center's scientific community thus forms a rich multidisciplinary and international network to improve understanding of water issues. The research areas combine hydrological, chemical, and biological sciences with social sciences to provide comprehensive expertise in addressing water resource challenges: availability, quality, sharing, and extreme events (floods, droughts). ICIREWARD works throughout the year with schoolchildren, high school students, university students, and the general public (Water4Future program, PLOUF, Friday, March 29—awareness workshops for schoolchildren as part of World Water Day 2024).