This year the Partos Innovation Festival will be organised online based on a new format. Part of this inspiring two-day event will be the presentations of the outcomes of the Food Hackathon. However, before it comes to that the Food Hackathon itself will take place on October 6!

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, among other causes, Africa is facing an – even more substantial than before – food shortage. Many (international) NGOs are working on food-related solutions but are facing challenges with the coordination of activities. It’s time to join forces with these NGOs. We can all see the necessity to work from the bottom-up and with locally-led initiatives. Therefore, we consult locally-led civil society organisations to join and support this Food Hackathon. They will inform us of their visions on the causes of the food shortage, the possibilities for improving the situation and the opportunities for joining forces with western NGOs.

This Food Hackathon has a focus on ‘System Thinking’ – understanding the causes of hunger as a system with different elements. Changing one factor affects another aspect and can involve a change in the (food)system. Once you understand the most influencing causes and which wheels to turn, you can strive to tackle hunger challenges in new and more effective, inclusive and locally-led ways.

The final goal of the Food Hackathon is the creation of a (prototype) tool which provides an inclusive and locally-led way of working. To do so, we need to find out how Dutch Development organisations (the Partos Members organisations) can work together more effectively while using digital tooling. The organisations will discover the possibilities to join forces and learn from each other’s activities. Do you want to join the Food Hackathon and help find answers to locally-led challenges? Subscribe below and have an impact!

Timeline of the process;

• The Spindle consults with locally-led organisations, who will describe the main causes of the food shortages in their country and therewith the needs for them to tackle these causes.
• We call for Partos Member organisations that work on Food Security to puzzle how they could respond to these needs.
• In reaction to these processes, the participants of the Hackathon, the so-called Hackers, will be mobilized to support the preparation of the Food Hackathon itself.
• On the day of the Food Hackathon, all needs and organisations will come together to join forces.

For any questions, you can reach out to Margreet van der Pijl (margreet@partos.nl).

Practical information:
When: October 6
Where: Online via ZOOM
Time: to be confirmed
Who: NGOs working on/with food