The Indo-Pacific Hackathon (IPH) titled “Japan-ASEAN Youth Strive for Circular Economy” was successfully conducted over a period of 6 weeks, culminating in the grand finale event we named “Green Day.” The Hackathon aimed to bring together the youth from the ASEAN Member States and Japan to foster innovation and collaboration towards achieving a circular economy.
The youth especially those with entrepreneur mindset, were inspired and motivated to take the role of business on solving local environmental issues, towards circular economy by participating in the Hackathon.
The IPH commenced with an online information dissemination session, where nearly 100 youths from the ASEAN Member States and Japan participated.
Respected speakers from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), a Japanese private company that is battling food waste and an active Indonesian youngster who is our Marine-Plastics fellow program inspired and motivated the participants on the matter of circular economy.
Fostering cross-culture dialogue, promoting awareness, and understanding of environmental issues faced by ASEAN & Japan
After the information session, participants formed groups and worked together for a week to address their local environmental issues. At this stage, youngsters from ASEAN and Japan were able to share, meaningfully discuss and come up with proposal for innovative business solutions to promote sustainability and address environmental challenges in their local.
On “Green Day”, young entrepreneurs from the participating teams showcased their innovative business models and products designed to address waste and resource management in their respective nation to fellows from other ASEAN Member States, judges, mentors, and businesses. It helps to enhance participants’ understanding on local issues in each member countries
Nurturing entrepreneurship among the youth in ASEAN and Japan through capacity-building activities
Among the concepts and proposals presented, a panel of mentors and judges selected twelve teams to receive support and guidance. These teams were chosen based on their potential to develop tangible business products and models that can contribute to sustainable practices.
The 12 selected teams received mentorship and support from experienced professionals in the field. Five lectures on “using ChatGPT for research and initial programming”, “Effectuation”, “Business Development”, “Pitching skills” and “Marketing”, along with one-on-one mentoring sessions were delivered by judges and mentors to assist the teams in refining their ideas, developing prototypes, and creating sustainable business models.
The materials are open access, you can find it here:
Materializing the business solutions from the youth to the circular economy and waste management in alignment with ACRF in Japan and ASEAN countries
The IPH concluded with the grand finale event, which we called the “Green Day” which included pitching session and Award Ceremony. Four teams:
NUTRIVE (Cambodia): Most Creative Hack Award
Forganic (Indonesia): Most Technically Complex Hack Award
PHINIX (Philippines): Most Impactful Hack Award
Rocket (Vietnam): Moon-Shot Prize Award
were awarded prizes for their outstanding contributions.
These teams demonstrated exceptional creativity, viability, and potential for impact.
Way Forward
ASEAN-Japan Centre commit to support the development of team further.
We work together with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia, to invite winning teams to participate in the youth/startup events as side-line activity of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, recognising their achievements and providing them with further opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Approaching and on the final day, there are reports of initial offers, collaboration offers from businesses who share the same interest with pitching team. We will continue to connect businesses and venture capitalists to engage with the pitching teams, fostering potential partnerships and investments.
The Indo-Pacific Hackathon, with its focus on youth empowerment and circular economy, successfully brought together talented individuals from ASEAN member states and Japan. The event provided a platform for collaboration, innovation, and the development of sustainable business solutions. The IPH not only encouraged entrepreneurship but also fostered networking opportunities and recognition for the participants’ efforts.
About the Event
a. Kickoff event: 10, May 2024
b. Main event: 22, June 2024 (Jakarta Indonesia)
c. Between them there are online training session over period of 2 week
