From March 10 to 13, 2025, Strathmore University in Nairobi hosted the ONEPlanET Hackathon, bringing together students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to co-develop solutions for challenges within Kenya’s Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus. The event served as a dynamic platform for multidisciplinary collaboration aimed at addressing fragmented governance, inefficient resource use, and the lack of integrated planning frameworks.
Over the four-day event, participants engaged in intensive group work and facilitated sessions to design innovative, data-informed policy ideas. These solutions focused on enhancing sustainability and coherence in WEF governance at both national and regional levels.
Key sessions during the hackathon included:
- Thematic Workshops on systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable policy design, helping participants unpack complex interdependencies across sectors.
- User Testing of the ONEPlanET Toolkit, featuring the Simulation Tool and Serious Game. Participants provided critical feedback that will inform future improvements in usability and functionality.
- Application of Living Lab Principles, promoting collaborative problem-solving with real-world relevance through multi-stakeholder engagement.
- Pitch Sessions, where teams showcased proposed policy interventions and prototypes aimed at improving WEF coordination and governance in Kenya.
The hackathon underscored the value of local innovation, knowledge exchange, and cross-sector collaboration in shaping actionable policy responses. It demonstrated how inclusive and participatory processes can generate solutions that are both practical and aligned with Africa’s broader sustainability goals.