We know that applying to our Hackathon can be a daunting experience, especially if you’re new to it. That’s why we’ve put together some frequently asked questions to help you understand what we mean by a prototype, who can apply, what kind of team you need and what civil tech solutions we can support. Check them out below!
1. Who can participate in the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon?
To apply for the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon, you need to:
- be a citizen of an EaP country: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,
- have an idea of a civic tech solution that helps citizens of EaP countries to address one or more of the following challenges: online disinformation & misinformation, social polarisation, civil society resilience, and forced displacement (IDPs, refugees & asylum seekers),
- have at least two more team members with technical skills to develop a prototype of the proposed solution. Your team members may be EaP or EU citizens. If you, as the author of the proposed solution, have the technical skills needed to work on the prototype, you may have only one more team member.
2. What is a civic tech solution?
Civic tech is a relatively recent concept, which is why it does not have a universally accepted definition yet. For this Hackathon, we define a civic tech solution as an IT product for social good / impact that has all of the following characteristics:
- it addresses a societal challenge;
- it is a not-for-profit product;
- it is designed for and mainly used by citizens and/or civil society (in our case, in at least one EaP country);
- it requires coding;
- it has a strong ‘user-system’ interaction.
For the 2026 Hackathon, we are looking for ideas of civic tech solutions addressing one or more of the following challenges faced by EaP citizens, either in their home countries or abroad:
- Counteracting online disinformation & misinformation.
- Tackling society’s polarisation.
- Advancing civil society resilience.
- Supporting refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and asylum-seekers.
3. The Hackathon guidelines say I can apply with an idea of a civic tech solution, but I have already started developing it. May I still apply?
Our 2026 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon is focused on supporting activists in launching new civic tech solutions. If your solution has not been released / made available to users by the Hackathon dates, you may apply with it.
4. Why do I need a team to participate in the Hackathon?
On the final day of the Hackathon, you will need to present a prototype of your proposed civic tech solution to the Hackathon participants, mentors and organisers. It does not have to be perfect, but it needs to clearly show the key features and critical functions of your solutions so that others can assess their relevance, feasibility, impact and sustainability. In Chisinau, you will have only 48 hours to work on the prototype and the final pitch, and this is too much for one person. Depending on the technical features of the proposed solution, you will need at least one developer to work on the code, and someone (a front-end developer or designer) to design the interface. If you, as the author of the proposed solution / team leader, are a developer or designer yourself, you may need only one more person to help you with the prototype.
5. How many team members do I need to have?
There is no maximum limit on the team members, but we suggest you have a team of 3 or more members that includes:
- the author of the proposed civic tech solution (the applicant), who also acts as the Hackathon team leader. Because of the author’s leadership, we consider authors as civic activists; they also do not need to have IT skills to develop the prototype.
- two or more IT professionals responsible for the technical implementation of the proposed civic tech solution. Your team members’ expertise may vary depending on the type and technical features of your proposed civic tech solution, but you need to have at least one developer to work on the code.
If you, as the applicant and the author of the civic tech solution, have the technical skills needed to work on the prototype, your team may have only 2 team members.
6. I have an idea of the civic tech solution, but I do not have any team members.
We understand that finding team members might be a challenge. Please write to us at [email protected], describe your idea, what capacities (team members and their skills) you already have, and what lacks, and we will share it with technical experts in our database. Keep in mind, this process will take some time, and the positive outcome is not guaranteed, so start as early as you can!
7. I am a citizen of an EaP country, but I live in the EU, and my other team members are EU citizens. Can we apply for the 2026 Hackathon?
Absolutely! There is no requirement for you or your team members to be residents of an EaP country, and only you, as the author of the proposed civic tech solution, must be a citizen of one of the EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine). Your team members may be citizens of EaP countries or any EU Member State.
8. I am an EaP Civil Society Fellow. Am I eligible to participate in the Hackathon?
Our Fellowship and Hackathon programmes are not mutually exclusive. So, if you have an idea of a civic tech solution in line with the 2026 Hackathon priorities and a team to help you prototype it, we are thrilled to get your application!
9. I am hesitant to register for the Hackathon because my English is far from perfect.
No stress, the Hackathon is not an English language test, so you do not need to worry about making mistakes. Most of our mentors and we (the organisers) speak 2+ languages and are happy to help when needed. Indeed, the Hackathon and Incubation Programme opening, first and final pitches, workshops and webinars are held in English, but you may decide within your team and mentors what language you will use for your internal communication.
10. What is the Online Incubation Programme? Do I have to participate in it?
The Online Incubation Programme is part of the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon, designed to help shortlisted teams further develop their proposed civic tech ideas. The Incubation Programme is held online from 19 March to 3 April 2026. The teams will present their ideas to the Hackathon mentors and organisers, discuss them with the mentors at individual consultations and get some more ideas for improvement at webinars. Participation of the authors of the ideas (team leaders) in the Incubation Programme is mandatory; participation of other team members is desirable but not required. The organisers reserve the right to cancel any team’s participation in the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon on 17-19 April in Chisinau if the team fails meaningfully engage in the Incubation Programme (fails to pitch their idea and/or misses more than a third of the sessions).
11. Our team consists of students and young professionals. May we still apply?
Definitely! The Hackathon is a good opportunity to get new connections and experience, and to try your skills. There is no requirement to present a ready-to-go product for your team’s final pitch, just enough to prove the proposed civic tech solution is technically feasible and give an idea of how it will work. And the best part: many of our mentors are/were developers and/or designers, and [still] have those hard skills to help you!
12. Why do I need to give my current town and country of residence in the application?
As said in the Guidelines, the European Union covers the travel expenses of all selected Hackathon participants based outside of Chisinau, i.e. a return trip between the address in an EU member state or an EaP country specified in the application and Chisinau, and their accommodation during the Hackathon. Getting this information in advance will help us with the Hackathon logistics.
13. I want to apply for the Hackathon, but I am a conscripted Ukrainian citizen based in Ukraine. Will the Hackathon organisers facilitate permission to travel abroad?
Upon request, the Hackathon organisers will issue an invitation to all selected participants of the Hackathon, regardless of gender, age, nationality, or country of residence. However, the participants are fully responsible for getting permission to travel to the Hackathon, either from the national authorities or their employers.
If you have questions not answered here, write to us at [email protected]. We will reply within 48 hours!
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This project will focus on empowering rural communities in Moldova by promoting local tourism and contributing to the economic development and revival of Moldovan villages. The Village Travel Bot is a custom Telegram bot that will help users plan and explore rural Moldova, offering educational insights, cultural experiences, and interactive challenges for a unique and immersive travel adventure. The bot will be piloted in five villages in 2024, with the potential for further development and customization for other countries in the region.
