August 24 - 27th 2023

Financial & Economic Literacy Hackathon

at the European Forum Alpbach 2023
Liechtenstein Gruppe
Forum Alpbach Partner

WHY WE NEED FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC LITERACY?

Europe’s post-war success story has stalled in the last 20 years. This stagnation has led to an decrease of competitiveness, economic imbalances and a subsequent increase in social inequalities. The pandemic and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine have disrupted established supply chains and shaken global competitive positions. Europe must act, and act quickly.

We must reduce economic and security dependencies and thus emphasize the ecological and digital transformation. Only a resilient and strong Europe will secure our independence in the years to come. A stronger focus on education, innovation and research is necessary, as is a robust digital architecture and sound capital markets. Europe must build on the strengths of a social and inclusive market economy and find viable solutions to get its success story back on track. The “Fighting for Europe´s Economic Sovereignty” Track at the European Forum Alpbach 2023 addresses some of the major economic and financial consequences of this mentioned developments.

According to Austria’s financial education strategy and several other stakeholder’s findings, younger generations have less financial knowledge and engage in riskier and less forward-looking behavior than other age groups. Further, every fourth client of debt counseling centers is under 30 years of age and has consumer debts of around 30,000 euros. It is clear there is a great need for broad, innovative concepts of how to tackle financial literacy starting at school.

How can we strengthen the financial and economic skills of Europe´s young generations while using the potential of technology and innovation?

This is where the MEGA Hackathon comes in. The MEGA Hackathon concept follows a strong „Do Tank Approach“ that develops concrete ideas and projects in a participatory and interdisciplinary manner and will take place as part of a „3 half-days-retreat“ during the European Forum Alpbach Lab Week, August 24-27th, 2023.

Public Events on MEGA Hackathon 2023.

Fireside Chat
on 25th August

Community hike followed by public fireside talk with speaker (tbd.)

Public crowd-voting
on 26th August

Public event with crowd-voting at CCA – Alpbach selecting TOP2 winner projects

The MEGA Hackathon offers you:

Interdisciplinary work and result-driven approach to develop your idea together with international & national experts

International networking synergies with the MEGA and EFA communities

3-day ticket to the European Forum Alpbach 2023 and accomodation

Funding for the two best ideas and access to the MEGA growth accelerator program