CALLING ALL YOUTH!
A Refugee Teen and
International Youth
Design-Thinking Hack-a-Thon
April 2021 Edition
The Solutions We Need Are Already Here
Being young doesn’t mean you lack the power to create change.
Being young doesn’t mean that you are without agency.
You have great ideas.
You have insights the world needs.
This global hack-a-thon is the first step to help shape your community.
THE BIG IDEA:
A global youth design thinking hack-a-thon to activate youth & create solutions for a better world.
WHAT IS A HACK-A-THON?
A hack-a-thon is a design sprint-like event where participants (often working in groups) tackle a challenge and try to come up with solutions. Coding is not required for Hello Future hack-a-thon. Instead, we practice design thinking principles in this contest.
DESIGN THINKING or HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN:
Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem-solving and is the backbone for international innovation companies and technology giants, like Google and Facebook. It is core to organizations working in social innovation.
PARTICIPANTS:
Hello Future students - Syrian refugee teens living in the Arbat refugee camp in Northern Iraq & YOU.
AGE GROUP: ages 15-22
Open to any youth, anywhere in the world.
IS THIS FUN?
It is super fun! US youth will get a chance to interact with their Syrian peers, gain a better understanding of Syrian teens’ lives and compete together to solve a major issue. Your work will be reviewed by amazing judges from across the world and get feedback from them.
THIS HACK-A-THON IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER:
We learn from each other all the time. We learn about our differences and similarities through a continuous exchange of ideas, an infinite loop of information. Our expansion as humans, as creatives and as future leaders depends on the diversity and quality of our inputs.
You have lots of great ideas to share, as do our students. Through this hack-a-thon, you will expand the world of Syrian teens and they will expand yours.
LAUNCH DATE: APRIL 25, 2021
HACK-A-THON DURATION: 7 days
HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
We work in teams of five. Find some friends and form a team. Then, sign up below. Each member needs to sign up individually.
Adults! You can participate too!
Email @ charlie@hellofuture.io if you would like to be a judge.
WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT IS THERE FOR EACH TEAM?
We don’t assume that all the teens participating will have experienced human-centered design, that’s alright. Each team will get real-time coaching by either Charlie, Hello Future’s founder and executive director, or another social innovation expert to help guide you through the hack-a-thon.
HOW MUCH TIME DOES THE HACK-A-THON TAKE?
That depends on you and your team. As in all things, you get out what you put in. A rough estimate would be a couple of hours a day.
HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE AS A COACH OR JUDGE?
Email charlie@hellofuture.io for more info.
THIS IS A FUNDRAISER TO SUPPORT PARTICIPATING SYRIAN REFUGEE TEENS AND HELLO FUTURE PROGRAMMING
Each US teams are asked to raise a minimum of $250 (or $50 per team member).
2020 Hack-a-Thons
April 2020 Edition
In partnership with C-Tech Los Angeles
Challenge Prompt:
How might we create solutions to help our community stay safe with COVID spreading?
June 2020 Edition
In partnership with DSIL & Neighbors for Refugees
Challenge Prompt:
How might we create solutions to support teens during lock-down?
Nov 2020 Edition
In partnership with Dalton School, United Nations International School and Brentwood School
Challenge Prompt:
How might we improve remote learning?
April 2021 Edition
Participating Schools: United Nations International School, Dalton & Claremont Mckenna College
Challenge Prompt:
How might we create opportunities to help develop refugee youth’s skills and talents?
Coaches
Charlie Grosso
Founder and Executive Director for Hello Future. A nomad who traded a life on the road for transforming the refugee experience. Hello Future is the hardest AND the most rewarding career to date. Charlie believe change is possible and it is the domain of all of us.
Katy Grennier
Co-Founder of DSIL Global, Katy is a seasoned practitioner of human-centered design with 12 years leading co-creation in the field with dozens of cross-cultural teams.Katy is a playfully provocative educator and lives what she teaches by co-designing the most dynamic learning environments around the world for students of all ages.
Katie Zaun
Katie is interested in the nature of the community, and in how we might question outdated narratives and invite in new perspectives. She is an educator and a writer and helps DSIL Global lead and facilitate inclusive design sprints around the world.
Gareth Durant
Gareth is a health designer at DSIL Global who is not afraid of conflict or diversity. He is an expert in ensuring successful projects can merge private sector innovation and development. he always endeavors to guide with humor which makes things a bit easier for the tough times change can bring!
Mohammed Hameed
Mohammed has been with Hello Future since our pilot in 2017 when he served as one of our teacher's aides. He brings compassion and dedication to Hello Future's mission and our students and alumni. He transition to Hello Future's lead instructor in the Fall of 2019 and has been instrumental in delivering a series of new programs.
Tony Lai
A DSIL Global coach, Tony unleashes collective potential at a human and a systems level. He has built companies and communities that empower people with agency, belonging and purpose. He studied and practiced design thinking at Stanford's d.school and was on the founding team of StartX, the Stanford-affiliated startup community of over 1300 founders.
Abdulrahman “Aba” Hassan
Aba has been with Hello Future as a community lead and teacher’s assistant since 2019. Under stated and always dependable, Aba brings endless compassion and patience for the youth.
Mario Gutierrez
Mario Gutierrez is the program director at the Save A Mind Foundation. He recently earned his M.B.A from Temple University and completed the intensive Fundraising and Philanthropy program at NYU. Mario is a former teacher that seeks to find innovative and unique ways to reform education. His current interest lies in motivation theory in the classroom and its effect on school culture. Mario enjoys travel, cooking spending time with his wife and daughter at their home in Philadelphia.
Frieda Hoffman
Frieda is a certified coach, consultant, and entrepreneur with a background in social work. Much of her coaching focuses on women – small-business owners, leaders, and artists – and supporting them is the thread that weaves her work and values together. She leads inclusive design sprints around the world as part of DSIL Global team.
40 International Judges
Marci Alboher
VP, Encore.org
Anita Baldauf
Director, ATF Pharmaceuticals
Atin Batra
Partner, Twenty-Seven Ventures
Christopher Bean
Serial Entrepreneur
Justin Barry
Applied Scientist, Amazon
Brook Bonner
Green Antelope Consulting
Natalie Bramble
CEO, iClick2Learn
Sunhera Cariappa
Design Strategy, EY
Vishal Chaddha
Investor
Armarit Charoenphan
Co-founder, TechSauce & HUBBA
Deborah Crowe
Imagineer
Patricia Dranoff
Designer
Rasha Elass
Sr Editor, Newsline Magazine
Faumuina Felolini Tafunai
Flying Geese Productions
Mettea Fleischner
Manager, Global Coffee, Tea & Cocoa at Starbucks
Anake Goodall
Chair, Seed the Change
Katy Greenier
Founder, DSIL
Mario Gutierrez
Education Consultant
Marc Hebert
Director Innovation Office, City of San Francisco
Will Joseph
CEO, Good Start Ups
Courtney Klein
Founder, Seed Spot
Niraj Mehta
Managing Partner, Kilowatt Capital
Boz Menzalji
GM Akash Network
Katie Milligan
Chief of Staff, Start Co
Marco Morawec
Sr Director, Trilogy Education
Nazneen Nasseri Scheuer
Head of Partnership Innovation & Strategy, Save the Children
Alexander Nolte
Institute of Computer Science at University of Tartu, Estonia
Sehreen Noor Ali
Co-founder, Sleuth
Tim Pare
Founder, Tea Leaf Trust
Cheryl Reynolds
CEO of Endangered Species Foundation
Marica Rizzo
Global Community Lead at Acumen
Lillie Rosen
Social Innovation in Humanitarian Services
Lindsey Sampson
User Research at Spotify
Art Shectman
Elephant Ventures
Anisha Shetty
Designer for Social Innovation
Sam Shlansky
CEO Marco Polo Project
Shiva Susarla
Director, RENERGii Asia
Karl Vendell Satinitigan
Co-founder of Social Enterprise Incubator
Kristina Villarini
Digital Director, Alliance for Safety and Justice
Chrysula Winegar
Sr Comm Director, UN Foundation
Hello Future is a US-based non-profit working in Iraqi Kurdistan with Syrian refugee youth. Since 2017, Hello Future has been providing in-person training in digital and media literacy for adolescent refugees living in the Arbat Refugee Camp. Hello Future transforms the refugee experience by teaching youth essential skills to become entrepreneurs and community leaders.
DSIL Global is a global innovation company training the next generation of social innovators and leaders working towards systems change.