Join the pan-African digital innovation competition that rewards innovators who have put their talents to work for democracy. As part of the Charter Project Africa, AfricTivistes is challenging young talent to design digital solutions to strengthen democracy and good governance. Showcase your expertise, whether you’re a developer, graphic designer, designer or just a passionate web enthusiast. The best innovations will be rewarded at a special event in Cotonou from 10 to 13 January 2024.

Africa, a continent with myriad resources, has always endeavoured to consolidate a solid democracy and good governance. Today, AfricTivistes is giving a new dimension to this commitment with the launch of its Hackathon entitled “Innovating for democracy and good governance in Africa” (#Innov4Democracy).

Adapting to overcome obstacles

Since the adoption of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in 2007, much progress has been made. However, its implementation in the member countries of the African Union (AU) still faces obstacles.

Through this hackathon, AfricTivistes aims to encourage the advent of innovative digital tools to promote democratic governance. Support for the creation of innovative tools based on digital technologies aims in particular to strengthen the participation of young developers (web/mobile), graphic designers, web designers and anyone else who is motivated, open-minded and able to work as part of a group.

Focus on innovation

With a particular focus on innovative digital solutions, the hackathon encourages participants to think about solutions that can address challenges such as improving citizen participation, access to public information, election monitoring and public accountability.

In addition to the development of web or mobile applications, all other types of innovative projects will be encouraged and accepted. Projects carried out by participants as part of this competition may include the following initiatives:

• 1- all types of solutions using digital technologies that can promote the participation of citizens, particularly young people and marginalised groups, in public governance, especially at local government level;
• 2- all types of solutions that can promote access to public information, particularly for the benefit of young people and marginalised groups;
• 3- all types of solutions likely to encourage the participation of young people in electoral processes…

The ambition of the hackathon is clear: it is not just about thinking of solutions, but about developing products and services that are at the cutting edge of technology while being relevant to the African continent.

Recognition and rewards

To motivate innovators, AfricTivistes offers winners not only recognition through integration into a vast community of values, but also financial and technical support to bring their projects to life.

In all, ten projects will benefit from 45 days of mentoring. Among them, five exceptional projects, designated as “Charter Fellows”, will receive a €5,000 grant and technical support from AfricTivistes.

A well-structured programme

The hackathon will run over several months, starting with a call for applications in October and culminating in a development and production event in January 2024. This will be followed by a four-month incubation period for the winning teams.

A giant step forward for citizen participation

The #Innov4Democracy hackathon is more than just a competition. It is a strategic initiative aimed at combining a passion for technology with a demand for citizen participation. By offering a platform where innovators can meet, collaborate and develop, AfricTivistes is contributing to democratisation efforts by making digital technologies appropriate responses to the continent’s challenges.

For more information or to register, please visit the official AfricTivistes website: https://www.africtivistes.com/en/​ 

About AfricTivistes

AfricTivistes is a pan-African organisation based in Dakar, federating the continent’s bloggers, change agents and web-activists to promote and defend democratic values, human rights and good governance through digital means.

Launched in November 2015, AfricTivistes is a sentinel for democracy in all African countries. As such, it is committed to intervening directly or advocating to involve actors in the various processes of political and social change. It conducts and pilots projects to develop and involve citizens in democratic systems. Naturally, it develops strategies to monitor political leaders and ensure that they implement their actions and the fulfilment of their promises in order to encourage transparency and good governance. It is a showcase for augmented citizenship in Africa.

About the Charter Project Africa

The Charter Project Africa is a pan-African project based on the commitments contained in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) – the African Union’s principal policy document for advancing democratic governance in African Union member states. The project promotes the use of civic technology to amplify the voice of citizens.It does this by providing financial resources, through grants, as well as technical resources, through know-how, to civic initiatives in favour of democracy, particularly those led by under-represented groups. This support is provided in eleven African Union member states – Benin, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia – as well as at regional and continental level. The project also opens up spaces for collaboration between citizens, civic initiatives and decision-makers in the African Union, at national, regional and continental levels – with a focus on digital formats.

For more information, please contact

Maurice Thantan

Project Manager and Scientific Production Manager for the Charter Project Africa at AfricTivistes

Email: maurice.thantan@africtivistes.org