Creating a memorable experience for all

The Climathon is an event where people come together to understand their local climate challenges and develop ideas for a net-zero carbon society. The focus is on unique ideas more than feasibility.

Planning a Climathon can be a big job, but we have gathered some tips to help you get started:

• Engaging your city: Cities are the forefront of climate action, so involving your local municipality is recommended. Before reaching out to any city representatives, consider how they could benefit from supporting your Climathon. Ideally, you should update them regularly on your progress
• Building your team: To organize a successful Climathon, you need a dynamic team. Roles to consider are the lead, partnerships lead, communications lead, event lead, and volunteer lead. Managing your team is important, so make sure to communicate regularly and provide structure
• Involving coaches, experts and jury members: Coaches, experts, moderators, and jury members play important roles in the Climathon. Involve them early on and consider what you can offer them. Find organizations that could add value to your program and help you develop it further
• Recruiting participants: To promote diversity, engage with local organizations and be creative in including as many different perspectives as possible. Consider using an online event registration platform, such as Eventbrite, Hubilo, or Whova, and encourage people to sign up as soon as possible. It's a good idea to include extra capacity for participants (100-150% of your max capacity) since some registered participants may not show up on the day. You can also pre-screen participants and/or charge a participation fee (which can be reimbursed upon attendance at your Climathon)
• Finding a venue: The venue is a critical component of your event. Choose a space that suits the needs of your audience, theme, and Climathon type. Consider the number of participants (on average a Climathon has 50 participants), tables and chairs, space for socializing, good internet connection, and accessibility. If online, is the platform of choice engaging and motivating for participants (sometimes participants will be online for a long time and thus they might suffer from “Zoom fatigue”)
• Designing the program: Your Climathon program should engage participants. The event can be in-person, virtual, or hybrid. Here are 7 principles to follow:
  • Length of the program: Climathons usually last between 12-48 hours
  • Kick-off: The opening sets the tone and builds excitement. EIT Climate-KIC provides a video to motivate and educate participants about Climathon and the global movement. You can find the video on the EIT Climate-KIC YouTube channel. During the opening, introduce the impact goal, agenda, and welcome everyone
  • Understand the challenge: Participants need to understand the local climate challenge to generate ideas. Ask your challenge partner to inspire and explain the problem. Encourage participants to research and invite presentations from experts. Use the Iceberg Canvas to shift perspective and look beyond the immediate problem. Encourage participants to ask themselves five times “why” a problem exists
  • Build teams: Participants can choose who to work with or on what challenges, or you can pre-select teams. If you pre-select teams, ask them beforehand if they have preferences. Teams should have different skill sets and not exceed six people. Coaches can help with this process
  • Brainstorm: Once participants understand the challenge, they can brainstorm ideas. Use the Iceberg Canvas or ideation tools from Board of Innovation to help with this process
  • Ideate, validate, and ideate: This phase involves creating prototypes and validating ideas. Prototypes can range from paper storyboards to coded apps. Make sure prototypes clearly communicate the challenge and idea. Leave enough time for teams to work on their idea without distractions. Coaches and experts can help validate ideas. Teams can also give feedback to each other’s ideas
  • Energizer: Create a fun event to give participants new energy. Ideas could be a city walk, zumba, or power yoga. Find additional ideas here
  • Presentation/pitch: The final stage is presenting ideas. Invite each team to present their idea to fellow participants and a local jury. Get teams to create short presentations in creative ways. You can select a winner or provide feedback to each team’s idea. Coaches and/or the jury can provide feedback
  • Networking: Allow time for people to network throughout the Climathon
• Speakers: Speakers give inspiration to participants. They can be local leaders, sponsors, community voices, or experts with insights related to your challenge. To prepare your speaker, brief them about your Climathon and the impact you want to achieve. Going through the script with your speaker might also be helpful
• Awards: If you plan to give out awards at your Climathon, consider offering more than just money. Previous Climathons have shown that teams benefit greatly from receiving expert coaching, training, incubation opportunities, or even just a desk at a co-working space. Some municipalities also offer teams the chance to present their ideas to a wider group of city representatives. Think about promoting the teams' ideas on your own or a sponsor's social media. End the pitch session by awarding the top teams, such as the top 3 for one challenge or one team per challenge for several challenges. You may also decide to recognize specific aspects, such as the best pitch, the most innovative or creative team, or the team with the best dynamic. Allow time for the jury to choose the winners between the presentations and the award ceremony. Close the ceremony with food and snacks for everyone to network and share stories. Announce the awards beforehand to increase interest in joining the Climathon. Share the great ideas and stories with EIT Climate-KIC to amplify the visibility of the ideas
• Walk the talk: To make tackling climate challenges easier, it's better to work on ideas in an environment that shows you how. Here's what you can do at your Climathon to "walk the talk":
  • Have vegetarian options available for food, or go completely veggie or vegan
  • Use reusable plates, glasses, and cutlery (without plastic where possible)
  • Estimate the amount of food you need to eliminate waste, or have a plan for leftovers
  • Provide recycling bins for paper and plastics
  • Choose a venue that's accessible by public transport or on foot, or encourage shared transportation
  • Limit the amount of printed materials
  • If you offer material awards, make them sustainable
  • Encourage your sponsors to promote sustainability
  • Consider virtual participation or speakers. If you want to host a virtual Climathon, you can get inspiration here

Resources

• The Climathon video on EIT Climate-KIC's YouTube Channel
• Airtable - Volunteer Management Template
• Notion - Volunteer Management Template
• Online hackathon guide by Tamara Koliada - Everything you need to become a rockstar organizer
• The systems innovation process by Systems Innovation Network
• The Iceberg Canvas by Systems Innovation Network
• Guide by Dan Randow - A fun and inclusive team-forming process