Centre of Climate and Environment Protection

Registration for the Metropolitan Climathon 2023 starts on October 2, which will take place from October 25 to 26 in Katowice.

Climathon is a 24-hour creativity race taking place simultaneously in many cities worldwide. During the competition, participants will look for solutions on improving urban mobility in a manner consistent with the principles of sustainable development. The mobility issue in cities is associated with many problems - the biggest of them in our region include: a very high share of cars in traffic, great pressure on parking space, ineffective spatial planning and road traffic hazards. Individual road transport is an important source of air pollution and excessive noise, as well as loss of safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as the use of huge areas for roads, squares and parking lots, and ineffective spatial planning only deepens this problem, causing more and more people to live as a result of urban sprawl. moves longer and longer distances every day.

The authors of the best ideas on how to change mobility habits among young city residents will receive cash prizes (the prize pool is PLN 18,000) and prizes in kind.

The event is addressed to students of all universities. No specialized knowledge or programming skills are needed.

What is Climathon? This is a 24-hour competition during which participants, in cooperation with invited experts, develop proposals for solutions to protect the climate. During Climathon, every creative idea that proposes an interesting and modern approach to topics related to climate challenges, this year - urban mobility, has a chance to win.

Who is Metropolitan Climathon 2023 for? Anyone who has the status of a student of the first and/or second cycle of studies, students of postgraduate studies and doctoral studies of universities operating in Poland, conducted in any mode, can apply. In a word: anyone who has an idea related to the topic "Mobility in the city" can take part in Climathon. The organizers are not looking for complicated solutions involving the creation of an advanced mobile application or the installation of expensive devices. Even a simple educational concept on how to encourage yourself and those around you to change your daily habits of moving around the city can be a winner. Registration for the event lasts until October 20.

What do you need to know? To take part in Climathon you do not need to have specialist knowledge related to mobility. All you need is an open mind and the willingness to create non-standard ideas. During the event, participants will receive support from the organizers and inspiration from mentors and experts.

How do we understand urban mobility? Every day, thousands of residents of the GZM Metropolis and its surroundings travel through it along various routes and in various ways. Mobility is a key feature of the modern world. If someone is not mobile or encounters barriers when wanting to move, this usually entails various life restrictions and inconveniences. Limited mobility often means fewer opportunities to get an attractive job, limited access to areas and places of recreation, or worse conditions for maintaining contacts with other people. We understand the concept of mobility much more broadly than just transport, or moving from point A to B. Mobility is a set of all the elements of our movement and what influences it. This is not only about different means of transport, but also about the ways of using them and the needs, emotions and ways of thinking behind them, as well as ways of managing mobility. We assume that transport should best serve these needs. The needs mentioned here are diverse, just as the availability and attractiveness of various ways of transportation for people living in different parts of the Metropolis and their lifestyles are diverse. When improving conditions for mobility, we must take this diversity into account and at the same time strive to make our mobility sustainable. Sustainable mobility is one that allows for the efficient implementation of the most important needs of various communities, groups and individuals in a way that simultaneously takes into account: the needs and interests of future generations (the efficiency of the broader ecosystem and its boundaries - the ability of our planet and the environment to provide and renew natural resources and absorb various types of emissions and pollutants, as well as the limited space of cities and what type and intensity of movement they are able to accommodate, especially in the light of climate change), global, regional and local differences in the resources and competences that people have (so that the system of ensuring mobility, land development and use of resources was fair, reconciled diverse capabilities and needs, and protected the health and well-being of all residents). In other words, individual mobility needs must be met in such a way that they can be reconciled with the needs of other people and the long-term efficiency of the ecosystem.

How can I register for Climathon? Just go to www.climathon.pl and find the registration form and fill in all the fields. Feedback should be received by October 23.

What format will Climathon take place in? Metropolitan Climathon 2023 will be held on-site from October 25 to 26 at the Center for Modern Information Technologies of the University of Economics in Katowice.

What can you win? There are prizes for the most interesting ideas:
a. First Prize PLN 10,000,
b. Second Prize PLN 5,000,
c. Third Prize PLN 3,000,
and other gifts from the organizers and event partners.

Metropolitan Climathon 2023 is organized by the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis and the Fortis Pro Nobis Foundation under the auspices of EIT Climate-KIC.

We invite you to participate!

Source: https://climathon.pl/