More than 30 Sudanese youth have participated in a 24 hrs.  ‘Climathon’ on October 25-26^th, organized by  Impact Hub Khartoum in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) , Climate-KIC , Moutasim Nimir Center for Environmental Culture, and the Sudanese Environment Conservation Society.

The global ‘Climathon’ aims to generate powerful solutions to the current  climate challenges, towards zero carbon by 2050. This is achieved   by translating climate action solutions into tangible projects, supporting climate-positive businesses and start-ups in addition to addressing local policy changes.

The Climathon is Climate Action program with a hackathon at its core. The hackathon is a 24-hour event dedicated to solving the toughest climate challenges cities face today , taking place simultaneously in 100+ cities around the world on 25 October 2019. The challenge for this year's Climathon Khartoum is ‘Finding Adaptable Solutions for Extreme Weather Events in Sudan’ having evident impact on cities and people’s lives’.

Climathon Khartoum 2019 is the second edition of  a Climathon in Sudan.

The vision of Climathon Khartoum is to bring together a diverse collective of citizens with special  focus on youth with great interest in climate action as well as city officials, entrepreneurs, software developers, innovators, students, civil Society members and environmental Experts; with the aim of addressing extreme climate negative impacts in Khartoum city and assist in finding practical and sustainable solutions for these challenges.

Furthermore, the Climathon aims to raise awareness about the pressing threats of Climate Change on our planet generally and our city specifically bridge the language gap between the academicians and scientists and between the day-to-day lives of the Sudanese community.

The challenges for this year is extreme weather events, with special focus on energy efficiency, water infrastructure and efficient use of private and public spaces, in attempts of mitigating and adapting to the high temperatures and heat waves, heavy rains and flash floods, desertification and dust storms in Sudan.

Solutions proposed  by the Sudanese youth were focused mainly on addressing current threats in Sudan and ranged from developing solutions to deforestation to solar lakes , passive cooling and protecting Mangrove forests in Port Sudan to drainage systems to prevent  floods hazards.

For example, Hind, Almunzir, Mohamed, and  Yasmin developed a solution called “Sustainable Passive Cooling System in Housing”. The project’s objective is to create cool micro-climate inside and outside the houses.

In addition , Mohamed Awad, Moyad and Mohamed addressed the topic of climate change mitigation and developed a solution named “Mangrove: Help Earth Breathe”. The idea behind their project is  to spread the use of biodegradable shopping bags to fund  the planting of the maximum number of Mangrove forests to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Starting on January 2020,  the second phase of the Climathon project will commence. The second phase is the incubation program for Climathon participants. With generous support of UNDP, all of the 32 participants of Climathon Khartoum 2019 will be admitted and supported during the incubation.

The incubation is the process of helping entrepreneurs realize the potential of their start-ups, through access to the right mix of mentors, advice, access to network, training, and access to capital.  It includes a series of tailored masterclasses, one-to-one mentorship, and support for the teams to further develop their idea and create or improve their business plans.

The Climathon is an initiative of Climate-KIC, EU’s largest public-private partnership addressing climate change through innovation to build a zero-carbon economy.

UNDP and Impact Hub Khartoum have a long-standing partnership in promoting social innovation through a unique ecosystem of resources, inspiration, and collaboration opportunities to innovate for a new kind of economy - sustainable for all people, as well as the planet.