The Institut Français in the UAE is thrilled to report the success of the 2nd Youth Hackathon on the causes and consequences of climate change with the support of TotalEnergies in the UAE and in collaboration with the “Climate Fresk”, the event being hosted by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. 30 students from 5 universities – Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University, UAE University, University of Sharjah and 42 Abu Dhabi – enthusiastically participated this year.
For two day, the students had to investigate and understand the causes and consequences of climate change in order to build a sustainable strategy for their universities. What a stimulating and inspiring experience it was to witness them re-think and pitch their solutions in teams!
H.E. Xavier Chatel, Ambassador of France, co-chaired the jury with Mr. Elias Kassis, TotalEnergies UAE Country Chair. Dr Laurence Renault, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi welcomed the dignitaries at the closing ceremony.
H.E. Xavier Chatel celebrated the cross-disciplinary teams coming from different universities and called for more actions for and by the youth to rethink together sustainability towards COP28. Mr. Elias Kassis said that this 2-day session of the Youth Hackathon demonstrated a great amount of confidence and team spirit among students. It was inspiring to hear their creative pitches on future sustainable strategies taking into account the #SDGs toward #COP28.
