Hack for Earth began as an ambitious experiment to reinvent the hackathon tool, but it has since evolved into a global movement redefining innovation and democracy for the 21st century. At its core is the concept of citizen-driven innovation, which empowers citizens all over the world to co-create solutions for the most pressing challenges of our time. Through a commitment to inclusivity, sustainability, and real-world impact, Hack for Earth is proving that when citizens come together with a shared sense of urgency and a clear purpose, extraordinary solutions can be the result.
The Catalyst: A Sense of Urgency
The world faces major challenges that demand immediate action—climate change, inequality, and resource scarcity just to mention a few. Hack for Earth recognizes that innovation without urgency is ineffective. The movement is therefore built on creating hackathon environments where time-sensitive challenges drive focused and impactful solutions.
A Hack for Earth hackathon is so much more than just an event; it’s a crucible where the sense of urgency fosters creativity and accelerates real problem-solving by the diverse teams. The urgency of the challenges motivates teams to deliver results with the potential for meaningful, real-world change.
Crafting a Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP)
From 200 hackers to 2 million in two years
This is Hack for Earth’s Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP)—a bold vision that emerged from the need to scale the movement’s impact exponentially. It reflects the belief that innovation is not limited to a select few but can—and should—be driven by millions of people worldwide.
The MTP unites participants, partners, and stakeholders under a shared mission. It embodies Hack for Earth’s ambition to expand its reach, diversify its community, and amplify its ability to tackle global challenges.By committing to this transformative goal, Hack for Earth has become a symbol of what’s possible when a sense of urgency and purpose converge.
The Dream! Hack! Build! Method: Turning Ideas into Impact
Hack for Earth’s success is rooted in its structured approach to citizen-driven innovation, known as the Dream! Hack! Build! method. Each phase reflects the values of inclusivity, urgency, and follow-through:
1. Dream!: This phase engages citizens to share their visions for a better future. By crowd-sourcing dreams and challenges, Hack for Earth ensures that its initiatives resonate deeply with communities and address real-world issues. The Dream phase also fosters a sense of ownership, empowering participants to feel personally invested in the solutions being developed.
2. Hack!: During the hackathon, diverse teams come together to tackle challenges using open data, APIs, and collaborative problem-solving. The sense of urgency, combined with the diversity of perspectives, drives innovation that is both creative and practical.
3. Build!: Unlike traditional hackathons, Hack for Earth doesn’t stop at ideas. Winning solutions are accepted into the Build for Earth acceleration program, a six-month online program designed to turn solutions from hackathons into fully functional tools. Build for Earth ensures that the solutions developed during hackathons have a tangible, long-term impact on society.
Key Milestones
Since its inception, Hack for Earth has achieved significant milestones, solidifying its position as a global leader in citizen-driven innovation:
– Introduced at the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York, showcasing its potential to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in 2022.
– Presented at TEDx Stockholm, inspiring with its vision for redefining citizen-driven innovation and democracy in 2020.
– Honored with the Sustainable Climate Investment Award at the Sustainability Awards Summit in the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, UK, in 2024.
– The book Dream! Hack! Build! published at the initiative of the tech book publisher Packt publishing, in 2024. The book is a hands-on guide to using the Hack for Earth method to create real-world impact in any organization.
These milestones underscore the global recognition of Hack for Earth’s mission and the impact it is creating.
From Hack for Sweden to a Global Movement
Hack for Earth’s roots trace back to the government mission Hack for Sweden, which sought to use hackathons to foster innovation within the country. However, the model needed a broader vision and greater inclusivity to reach greater results. Participants were often drawn from narrow, homogeneous pools, limiting the scope and impact of the solutions generated.
Recognizing this, Hack for Earth expanded the definition of person participating in a hackathon, a “hacker.” By inviting people with different skill sets who could bring fresh perspectives to the table, the Hack for Earth hackathons are unlike any other hackathons. Global campaigns like Dream for Sweden in 2019 and Dream for Earth at Expo 2020 in Dubai demonstrated the power of this inclusivity. By lowering barriers to participation, Hack for Earth ensured that everyone, not just tech people but anyone with a passion for a better future, could join Hack for Earth hackathons.
This pivot transformed Hack for Earth into a global movement with participants from over 125 countries. Guided by its MTP and fueled by a sense of urgency, the movement has scaled exponentially, bringing people from all over the world into its fold.
Core Values: Sustainability, Diversity, and Impact
Hack for Earth’s three core values—Sustainability, Diversity, and Impact—anchor every initiative:
– Sustainability ensures that every solution contributes positively to the planet and future generations.
– Diversity brings together people from different backgrounds, fostering creativity and innovation.
– Impact is the non-negotiable outcome, ensuring that ideas don’t just remain concepts but become real tools that make a difference.
These values are not just guiding principles; they are the foundation of Hack for Earth’s approach to redefining democracy. By empowering citizens to take action, the movement transforms passive participation into active co-creation, making citizen-driven innovation a hands-on process.
A Call to Action
Hack for Earth is more than a series of hackathons—it’s a global movement driven by urgency and purpose. By aligning its initiatives with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and fostering citizen-driven innovation, it’s creating solutions that address the challenges of today while building a better tomorrow.
With its MTP as its guiding star, Hack for Earth invites everyone to join this journey. The goal is clear: to empower 2 million hackers in two years to dream, hack, and build solutions that change the world.
The time to act is now. Let’s dream big, hack together, and build a better future!
