About the programme
EU Sparks for Climate: Citizens Hackathon Championship is an initiative supported by the European Commission and implemented by Barrabés.biz in collaboration with Energy Cities, Eurada, ECSA and Eurocrowd. Aligned with the European knowledge valorisation policy and the European Missions, particularly the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, its goal is to facilitate a competition to valorise knowledge and the collaborative creation of technologically and socially innovative solutions by teams of citizens and researchers to address climate challenges.
The Championship unfolds in three stages: virtual local hackathons hosted by 22 EU locations, followed by training modules and coaching activities for the winning teams of these local hackathons, culminating in an EU final where teams can vie for prizes in three categories: Best Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Solution, Best Adaptation to Climate Change Solution and Best Cross-Cutting Solution.
Guided by facilitators, mentors, teachers and jury members, multidisciplinary teams will navigate through a set of workshops to co-design and prototype their solutions tailored to specific challenges proposed by citizens. An Advisory Board will oversee the alignment and progression of the hackathons with the EU initiatives underpinning this program.
Our Partners
Barrabés.biz (ES)
Barrabés.biz specialises in innovation programmes, particularly in SME digital transition and creating synergies between start-ups, SMEs, and corporates. Since its inception in 2000, Barrabés.biz has facilitated digital transformation for leading businesses, public authorities, SMEs, and startups, offering expertise in innovation, digitalisation and enterprise to drive cultural transformation and implement new digital habits effectively.
In the project, Barrabés.biz leads activities, oversees tasks, and ensures project development according to plan. They will also provide expertise in innovation methodologies and digital transformation.
Energy Cities (FR)
Energy Cities (ENC) serves as a vital learning community for over 1,000 European local governments committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, leveraging its 30 years of experience in EU-funded projects to support cities in driving energy transitions. Through capacity-building, training, and collaboration facilitation, Energy Cities fosters the replication of successful governance models and innovative tools.
In the project, Energy Cities provides sustainability challenges, network support for hackathons, and contributes to the methodology development.
European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) (BE)
European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) (BE)
Having as members a wide range of regional development agencies (RDAs) from 20 countries, EURADA can be seen as the prime European network of regional development practitioners.
In the project, EURADA supports methodology development, provides network support, and assists winners in building connections with policy makers and potential funding sources.
European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) (BE)
Their mission is to make science and research open, accessible, and valuable to everyone. They aim to achieve this by actively supporting citizen science initiatives, encouraging participation from the public, and facilitating the growth of citizen science across Europe. Through its role as a central hub for citizen science initiatives and networks, ECSA facilitates community building, provides high-quality training programs, and advocates for the integration of citizen-generated data in policy-making processes, contributing to evidence-based decision-making and societal impact.
In the project, ECSA supports methodology development, provides network support for hackathons, and assists in delivering the sustainability training module.
European Crowdfunding Network AISBL (EUROCROWD) (BE)
EUROCROWD is a professional network promoting adequate transparency, (self) regulation and governance while offering a combined voice in policy discussion and public opinion building. EUROCROWD supports its members in carrying out initiatives aimed at innovating, representing, promoting, and protecting the European crowdfunding industry.
In the project, EUROCROWD supports training on crowdfunding, provides access to crowdfunding platforms for winners, and integrates crowdfunding as a funding solution for project ideas.
