International hackathon aims to promote the Sustainable Development Goals

With the support of UN Women, Business and Technology University (BTU), in collaboration with the iamtheCODE AI Institute, held an international hackathon on artificial intelligence (AI) for women and girls. At the end of the three-day event, on 18 July, the jury selected five winning teams.

The initiative aimed to empower young women in technology and create innovative opportunities for them. During the event, about 100 participants worked not only on improving their technical skills but also on leadership, innovation and knowledge of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Refugee and internally displaced women were also among the participants. The opening of the hackathon was attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Georgia, His Excellency Hideki Ishizuka. The founder of iamtheCODE, Lady Mariéme Jamme, came to Georgia especially for the event, and she also addressed the participants.

“I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented and innovative young women,” Lady Jamme remarked. “Coding is the language of the future, and you are already speaking this language. In general, many technological hackathons are held, but this one is really very important due to its topics and specifics. Business and Technology University in Georgia is doing a great job. Together, we are showing the world why artificial intelligence is so important and what role women can play in these processes. For three days, Georgian women and young people will study in detail what artificial intelligence can do within the framework of sustainable development. We have very high expectations.”

At the hackathon, the teams discussed real-world problems and explored ways to achieve the SDGs with the help of artificial intelligence. International and local mentors worked with the participants, providing them with ongoing support and consultation. The final ideas were evaluated by a jury of international and local specialists.

The first-place winner of the hackathon was the team with 18-year-old Elene Samsiani. Elene recently graduated from secondary school and will continue her studies in computer science at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Hungary in September.

“I love programming and technological innovation, so the event really interested me,” Elene added. “It was an opportunity to meet new people, work with peers with different experiences and perspectives and, in the process, expand my social capital. The technology field is often full of gender stereotypes, and girls have less encouragement to choose this path. Seeing strong, creative and competent girls at the hackathon was inspiring not only for me but also for future participants. Such initiatives simultaneously develop public awareness, promote the generation of innovative ideas and create an inclusive environment where girls and boys are given equal opportunities to contribute to solving global problems.”

Within the framework of the hackathon, Elene’s five-member team worked on SDGs 4, 5 and 10 and created a web platform project that addresses the need to reduce inequality, achieve gender equality and improve access to quality education.

The platform allows any user to choose a desired famous person, talk to a chatbot trained to emulate that celebrity’s characteristics, and acquire information about various topics of interest to them—including the SDGs—in a more personalized and interesting way.

“It was also important to focus on women’s empowerment,” Elene explained, “so we featured influential women on the platform, such as Zaha Hadid, Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie and others. Users can ask them about engineering, science, economics, history and other topics.” She added that formats like the hackathon transform existing theoretical information about the SDGs into practical experience and more clearly show how technology can overcome social, environmental and economic challenges.

The winning teams will take part in a 12-week mentoring programme and receive access to premium AI courses from the iamtheCODE global network, as well as a grant voucher in the amount of 1,000 Georgian lari for the development of their idea.

The hackathon was part of an international movement that aims to increase women’s and girls’ access to AI and STEAMD education (science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics and design). Along with UN Women, it was supported by the microbank Crystal, a signatory to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Support for the hackathon is part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment component of the project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia”, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).