Damascus, July 5 (SANA)The Reco Foundation and IBTKRGO Foundation organized the “Eco Innovate” program activities under the patronage of theMinistry of Communications and Information Technology, hosting the first national environmental innovation hackathon in Syria to empower participating teams and discuss projects focused on innovative solutions and technologies to address environmental challenges across provinces.

The three-day program, in partnership with the Ministries of Local Administration and Environment and Emergency and Disaster Management, featured training and qualification phases focused on developing and refining environmental ideas with support from experts inenvironment,entrepreneurship,artificial intelligenceand internet technologies, culminating in project presentations before a specialized judging panel that evaluated them based on environmental impact, economic feasibility, implementability and sustainability criteria.

Approximately 70 participants from an initial 300 applicants who completed prior virtual training workshops took part in the hackathon, with 25 participants qualifying across eight teams that presented projects in waste recycling, paper and plastic management, early warning systems and other environmental challenges.

The judging panel announced Sunday the victory of three teams that presented innovative projects, with the winners to receive technical and financial support to further develop their projects.

The first-place team, led by mechanical engineering student Boushra Shihab al-Din, presented “Call Paper” — a smart platform connecting entities with recyclable paper to factories using it as raw material, contributing to waste reduction and promoting the circular economy.

Taimaa Ghazal, a mechatronics engineering graduate, presented a project to recycle plastic water bottles into filaments for 3D printers, aiming to provide a low-cost local product.

Communications Minister Abdul Salam Haykal saidinnovationis one of the most important pillars of Syria’s future, adding that combining environment and technology presents a real opportunity to produce solutions capable of addressing development and environmental challenges.

“The true value of projects lies not in winning competitions, but in their ability to become successful projects on the ground,” Haykal said, calling on participants to continue developing their ideas and moving toward implementation.

Reco Foundation Director and Eco Innovate Executive Director Ola al-Haj told SANA that the program aims to bridge the gap between technology, entrepreneurship and environment, integrating the environmental dimension intoeconomic recoveryand development efforts to entrench a culture of environmental innovation among youth.

Al-Haj said the hackathon is the first phase of a year-and-a-half-long program that will include hackathons across Syria addressing multiple environmental files, including waste management, wildfires and water resources, aiming to develop practical solutions. IBTKRGO Foundation will incubate the winning teams, providing technical guidance and connecting them with investors and experts.

The national environmental innovation hackathon is a youth-led technological initiative aimed at empowering Syrian youth to develop practical solutions for local environmental challenges and transform innovative ideas into implementable sustainability projects.