Greek, Turkish deputy foreign ministers announce 2024-2025 hackathon on smart cities

The Greek and Turkish deputy foreign ministers on Monday announced the 2024-25 Türkiye-Greece Hackathon, spotlighting both countries' commitment to innovation, progress, and cooperation.

Following their 7th bilateral positive agenda meeting in Athens, Türkiye's Mehmet Kemal Bozay and his Greek counterpart Kostas Fragogiannis released a joint statement announcing the event, whose dates were not yet announced, saying that it will focus on the theme of smart cities.

The hackathon will zoom in on key issues such as sustainable urban mobility, smart buildings, cutting-edge technologies and transport systems, as well as improving everyday life with citizen-friendly solutions, waste management, and disaster prevention and protection.

Young people age 18-35 – university students, young entrepreneurs and researchers from the two countries – are invited to submit their proposals addressing the relevant topics for the event.

“This significant initiative, co-organized by Bilisim Vadisi, the Technology and Innovation Base of Türkiye, in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Türkiye, and the Athens Startup Business Incubator (Th.E.A of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry), aims to harness the creative energy of our brightest minds to develop solutions that will have a lasting, positive impact on society,” the statement said.