AI Hackathon HACKTOBERFEST 2026

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Start: 17.10.2026 @ 10:00

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What would you change about your city if you had the tools and a team to help?

On October 17, we’re bringing people together at Base42 for a one-day AI hackathon dedicated to the place we live in, Skopje. Under the theme FIX MY CITY, we’ll explore how open-source AI can help us understand local challenges and build useful solutions.

Our city is full of stories, opportunities and everyday frustrations. Getting around, finding reliable information, protecting the environment and discovering local culture are all areas where a thoughtful idea can make a difference.

Choose a problem. Explore it. Build something people can try.

Your project could focus on:

• Ecology and the environment: Make environmental data easier to understand, reduce waste, support recycling or organize community cleanups.
• Public transport and mobility: Make transport information more accessible, explain routes or help people plan their journeys.
• History and local heritage: Uncover neighborhood stories, explore historical archives or create interactive experiences around city landmarks.
• Culture and creativity: Help people discover events, cultural spaces, local artists and stories that deserve a wider audience.
• Accessibility and community life: Make city information easier to use and help more people participate in what their city offers.

These are starting points. If you see another local problem worth addressing, bring it with you.

You don’t need to solve an entire city’s challenges in one afternoon. Focus on one specific problem, understand who experiences it and build a prototype that demonstrates your approach.

Different backgrounds make better teams. That is why we encourage developers, designers, students, researchers, artists, environmental enthusiasts, urbanists, historians and curious residents to participate.

You don’t have to be a programmer to contribute. Understanding a problem, researching information, designing an interface, testing a solution and telling its story are all essential parts of building something useful.

Teams can have a maximum of three members. Come with your team or meet potential teammates during the morning.

Why Hacktoberfest?

Hacktoberfest is a global celebration of open source held throughout October. It brings people together to learn, exchange knowledge and build technology that others can use, adapt and improve.

In 2026, its focus is on open-source AI and open-weight models, encouraging hands-on experimentation and collaboration. Open-source software makes its code available under licenses that allow reuse and modification, while open-weight models make their trained weights available under the model provider’s terms.

Our hackathon brings that global spirit to Skopje. We’ll use open technology to explore local needs, share what we learn and create projects that can continue growing after the event. Participants are encouraged to document their work and share it in public repositories so others can build on their ideas.

AGENDA

Time	Activity
10:00–11:00	Doors open, arrival and introductions
11:00–11:10	Official opening and welcome
11:10–11:30	Brainstorming and choosing a challenge
11:30–12:00	Short team pitches: what you plan to build
12:00–13:00	Project development
13:00–14:00	Lunch break
14:00–17:00	Project development
17:00–18:00	Final project demonstrations and judging
18:00	Winners announced and prizes awarded

At the end of the day, each team will explain its chosen problem, demonstrate its prototype and share how the project could develop further.

Prizes supported by CodeChem and Anhoch.

Bring your laptop, charger and a local challenge you’d love to work on. Let’s build something useful for our city, together.