The Government of the Canary Islands has announced the launch of two hackathons on ecodesign and the circular economy. The in-person events will take place on Saturday, 26 September, on Tenerife and on Saturday, 3 October, in Gran Canaria instead; both from 9 am to 8 pm. The organiser is Consejería de Transición Ecológica y Energía of the Gobierno de Canarias through the Dirección General de Calidad Ambiental.
The meetings are aimed at students, professionals, founders and other interested people. The aim is to develop practical solutions to island-specific challenges in interdisciplinary teams within a day. Four focus areas are identified: reducing single-use plastics at events and in the hospitality sector; using agricultural waste to create new products or business models; promoting repair, reuse and a second life for goods; and ecodesign concepts to prevent waste in the tourism sector.
Attendance is free; registration is via the platform Circular Canarias. Teams receive expert support during the working sessions to help them structure, validate and present their ideas. According to the organisers, a finished project is not required; what matters is awareness of the problem, a focus on implementation and a willingness to refine proposals with experts.
Both competitions offer prize money: €750 for first place, €500 for second and €250 for third – €3,000 in total. A specialist jury assesses entries against four criteria: innovation, environmental impact, practical feasibility and potential for implementation in the Canary Islands. The aim is to ensure that winning ideas can develop beyond the concept stage into workable solutions.
The Director General for Environmental Quality, Ángel Montañés, emphasises the search for “talent, knowledge and new perspectives” to accelerate the transition to a circular island economy. The regional government also sees the hackathons as a testing ground for waste-prevention and resource-efficiency measures, as well as a showcase for local innovation potential.
The initiative is part of the Plan de Acción de Economía Circular 2024–2026 and is therefore embedded in the implementation of the Estrategia Canaria de Economía Circular 2021–2030 . According to the official view, follow-up steps – such as pilot projects or funding pathways – will depend on whether convincing approaches are continued after the competitions and turned into practical applications in partnership with administrations and businesses.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).