hACTathon Norm Critical Innovation and AI for Gender Equality

Purpose and goal:

Together with Accenture, Silicon Vikings designed and conducted a global hacathon with the goal of identifying new ideas promoting gender equality through AI. The program had 90 hackers from 26 different countries; 19 concrete business ideas were created, of which 9 reached the final. Seminars were offered on norm-critical design and all teams were offered 1-1 coaching.

According to the jury, all 9 finalists had developable and commercial ideas. All objectives were achieved. Relative to previous years, we had more participants, and more concrete and long-term sustainable ideas. Expected results and effects:

The expectation with a global hackathon (instead of uniquely focused on Sweden) was more diverse perspectives and greater blend of experience and knowledge. We achieved more innovation than in previous years and believe that the interest and commitment to find new solutions for gender equality through AI will stay with all participants. Among the 9 finalists, the jury found that they all had concrete and developable ideas in AI for better gender equality.

The finalists have been offered support in various forms, not least through Vinnova´s network of partners. Approach and implementation:

We planned the event carefully in terms of time frames, intended support for the participants, and then the logistics. By doing it globally, we wanted to mix experience and get participants from different cultures and time zones without losing commitment and sense of community. We used the Eventornado platform as a tool, and it worked great.

It facilitated engagement and communication between participants through multiple channels. We also found that the mentor program helped participants move forward.