Hacking Good Toronto

Changemaker: Brennan Wong

Country of Implementation: Canada

Youth are often not afforded the opportunity to meaningfully contribute their skills towards a social cause that they are passionate about. As a result, Pledges for Change (an organization founded by GYS 2016 alumni, Brennan Wong) created an initiative called Hacking Good Toronto.

Hacking Good Toronto is one of many in a series of hackathon events that take place annually in cities around the world, challenging youth globally to use digital skills and tools to build innovative solutions that support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Founded in 2017, each hackathon equips participants with the latest digital skills through educational workshops offered at each event, enabling them to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges using state-of-the-art technologies. After each hackathon, we upload all ideas to an online toolkit, where they will be made accessible to organizations and companies who may be looking to advance their social agendas with the help of bright, young minds and technology.

On November 17th-19th, 2017, Hacking Good Toronto challenged over 110 youth (ages 15-24) to put their digital skills to use in support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #4.

Over the course of 24 hours, participants had the opportunity to rapidly iterate novel ideas that support this ambitious, yet important goal. In addition to the hackathon, there were a variety of opportunities to learn about topics such as UX / UI Design, and network with individuals in the social enterprise space. For more information, please visit www.hackinggood.pledgesforchange.com.