[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On October 13-14, a social hackathon “Smartuoliai” took place, aimed at finding new effective ways to develop emotional intelligence in children and youth. Nineteen teams from more than ten different regions of Lithuania participated in the hackathon – fifteen teams of senior schoolchildren, two of whom were Ukrainians currently living in Lithuania, four teams of non-governmental organizations and one startup, a total of almost a hundred participants. In addition, the participants were assisted by almost fifty mentors-experts and lecturers, as well as commission members representing both business, non-governmental organizations and the public sector.
The goal of the social hackathon is to become a catalyst for the development of emotional intelligence among Lithuanian youth and to bring together like-minded people from different groups of society who could do this. Therefore, there are many and diverse winners. The main prize is the opportunity to further develop your idea until implementation together with one of the five hackathon organizer-partners, including business representatives “Eika”, “ACME Grupė”, “Jung”, “Civinity” and the Kazickai Family Foundation. The commission selected as many as six teams for further development: students from Kretinga Jurgis Pabrėža University Gymnasium, Pasvalys Petros Vileišis Gymnasium, Grigiškės Šviesa Gymnasium, a team of Ukrainian students from Panevėžys, the NGO “Teacher Support Circles” and the startup “Meetelp”. Klaipėda Varpa Gymnasium was also awarded, and the audience’s sympathy was won by a team of Ukrainian students from Gravitas Schola.
Participants were invited to create ideas for developing emotional intelligence, choosing one of the narrower subthemes: emotional literacy, relationships, conflict and problem solving, self-knowledge, self-confidence, motivation and empathy. Among the winning proposals is the club “Argumentook”, a global democratic problem-solving game for young people that teaches the principles of debate and group work. Another idea addresses issues of youth employment and self-confidence, offering a platform that connects teenagers with potential employers. The students also proposed a board game “Break away from reality!”, which could help Lithuanian teenagers who do not have access to professional psychological help through a playful way of solving problems. Another team invites “to develop differently” and solve students’ motivation challenges using an online learning platform, where ordinary things could be learned from their favorite characters.
Further assistance in developing existing projects has also been offered to the non-governmental teachers’ organization “Teachers’ Support Circles”, which wants to provide a tool for emotional mutual support for teachers, and to the early-stage startup “Meetelp”, which points out that not only is psychological help difficult to access, but finding the right specialist is also becoming a challenge.
The ideas were evaluated by an eight-person commission consisting of representatives of the hackathon organizers-partners: D. Dargis, CEO of Eika, S. Artemiuk, CEO of ACME Grupė, V. Jackaitė, Head of Internal Communications at Civinity, E. Maslauskas, Product Manager at JUNG, J. Kugytė, Project Manager at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, V. Gabė, Head of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program and Psychologist at the Child Support Center, R. Dičpetrienė, Head of the Save the Children organization.
The hackathon was initiated by the real estate development company Eika, which has been supporting various children’s and youth organizations and initiatives for many years. “The impressive and wide, interdisciplinary circle of participants undoubtedly demonstrates the relevance of emotional health problems. We wanted to invite all interested groups to create emotional intelligence development solutions together and in a new way – in a startup way, which is fast, effective, inclusive, and also entrepreneurial, i.e. we have an expectation that the ideas created will be able to sustain themselves and therefore be sustainable. The results are pleasing and inspiring, we believe that this event is just the beginning, because together with partners we will support the best ideas so that they are implemented,” shares Domas Dargis, CEO of Eika.
According to Sergej Artemiuk, the head of ACME Group, when there are so many challenges around these days, a person’s psychological comfort and good emotional health are extremely important: “The sooner we start looking for solutions to balance emotional intelligence, the easier our future will be. The emotional health of both our team and our society is important to us, so we are very happy to be part of this initiative. What, in my opinion, does emotional intelligence lead to? A higher-quality and easier life. I think that the sooner a person recognizes their feelings and emotions, the better they can communicate with those around them, empathize with others. Balanced emotional intelligence can make life easier for a young person, both in the family and at an educational institution, and in the future – also communication with colleagues and partners.”
The social hackathon was created and implemented at the request of partners triple top line accelerator and startup fund Katalista Ventures. This experienced team will also advise the authors of the winning ideas. The hackathon took place at the innovation base of ISM University of Management and Economics.
“Smartuoliai” also took place thanks to many other social partners and friends of the hackathon. All major Lithuanian non-governmental organizations working with children and youth joined the event – as consultants, mentors, discussion and commission members: “Save the Children”, “Children’s Line”, “Youth Line”, “Children’s Support Center”, “Lithuanian Junior Achievement”, “Reach for Change”, “GovTech Lab”, “Crisis Management Center”.
“Both personally and as a representative of “Jaunimo linija”, I am very happy with the hackathon that took place: it was incredibly fun to see how students talk about emotions and their management, think about how to involve a wide range of students, teachers, and psychologists. Some seek to make their activities meaningful, while others think about business models. I am convinced that such events encourage both entrepreneurship and the identification of problems and the search for solutions. And this in itself is a benefit for the students themselves, their friends, and the school,” Nerijus Adomaitis, a member of the board of “Jaunimo linija”, said about the social hackathon.
The organizations “Jaunimas gali”, “Pazinimo medis”, NGO Avilys, Code Academy, Lithuanian Social Innovation Cluster also significantly contributed to the implementation of the event. The creative agency “Autoriai” created the image of the social hackathon, prizes were established by “Mindletic” and “Digiklasė”, and catering was provided by “Pergalė”, “Maisto manija”, and “Brooklyn Brothers”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”44946,44948,44950,44952,44954,44956″ img_size=”medium” el_class=”zoom-in-gallery”][/vc_column][/vc_row]