WOUGNET National Civic Tech Innovation Hackathon (Uganda)

The WOUGNET National Civic Tech Innovation Hackathon on Freedom of Expression aims to unite innovators and stakeholders nationwide to develop civic technology solutions that address barriers to women’s digital freedom of expression, civic participation and access to information.

Objective

• Develop innovative solutions that enhance and protect women’s Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and resilience of women-led civil society organizations.

Focus Areas

• Safeguard women’s freedom of expression in online and offline spaces
• Improve women’s access to information, especially in marginalized communities
• Strengthen digital resilience for women-led CSOs against restrictive policies
• Promote digital security and online safety for Women Human Rights Defenders
• Leverage AI and open data source to enhance civic participation

Theme

• Civic Tech Innovation on Freedom of Expression

Benefit

• Mentorship, networking and potential further funding opportunities for outstanding solutions

Funding Information

• A cash prize of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Uganda Shillings (1,500,000 UGX) will be awarded to each of the top three innovations.

Eligibility Criteria

• Open to all Ugandans. Participation can be individual or in teams not exceeding three members. A member can only belong to one team.

Evaluation Criteria

• Innovation: Originality and creativity of the solution.
• Impact: Potential of the solution to enhance FoE and resilience of CSOs.
• Feasibility: Practicality, scalability and inclusivity of the solution.
• Technical Achievement: Quality of the technical implementation.
• Presentation: Clarity and effectiveness of the presentation/demo.
• Gender-responsiveness: Gender responsive design and potential to prevent gender backlash.

For more information, visit WOUGNET.