PHAROS Plastic Fantastic Hackathon Days (18–19 May 2026)

The Plastic Fantastic Hackathon Days is an online innovation challenge where teams come together to design actionable solutions for the detection, collection, prevention, and valorisation of marine litter.

Let’s design and develop solutions to pollution.

The contamination of oceans, seas, and coastal ecosystems by plastics, chemicals, waste, and other human-derived debris is threatening ecosystems and biodiversity, human health, and the sustainability of marine resources.

PHAROS is seeking solutions that address this challenge through:

Detection and monitoring
Methods and tools to identify, track, and assess marine litter sources, distribution, and impacts.

Collection and valorisation
Efficient systems to remove marine litter and transform recovered materials into valuable resources through reuse, recycling, or upcycling.

Reduction and prevention
Strategies, products, and policies that prevent marine litter at its source and reduce its generation across value chains.

Agenda

Day 1 – 18 May 2026

• 10:00–10:30 CET – Welcome and presentation
  Welcome and introduction to the day’s agenda and the experts.

• 10:30–11:00 CET – Ecosystem mapping
  #Connect
  Workshop to map stakeholders in the blue economy ecosystem.

• 11:00–13:00 CET – Meet the experts: 1:1 coaching sessions
  #Learn
  Two one-hour sessions with business and sustainability experts who will coach you to refine and improve the technical aspects and viability of your project.

• 13:00–14:15 CET – Lunch break

• 14:15–15:15 CET – Panel discussion: Funding the Blue Economy
  #Inspire
  Panel discussion with representatives from public, private, and non-profit institutions on different funding strategies and opportunities for blue economy projects.

• 15:15–17:00 CET – Supported free working time
  Free time to work on your project with support from the Impact Hub Athens facilitation team.

Day 2 – 19 May 2026

• 17:00–17:30 CET – Welcome and keynote speech (DG MARE)
  Welcome, presentation of the jury members, and keynote speech by the European Commission (DG MARE) on the EU’s Ocean Mission and the role of social entrepreneurs.

• 17:30–18:50 CET – Pitching competition

• 18:50–19:00 CET – Announcement of winners

The Hackathon is part of PHAROS, an EU-funded project that aims to provide nature-based solutions for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity while addressing climate change and human impacts in the Atlantic and Arctic maritime regions.