What is the name of your organization?
Designathon Works
What is the name of your solution?
EmpowerED
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
EmpowerED equips children to collaborate, create, and lead change by designing innovative solutions to real-world challenges
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Amsterdam, Netherlands
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Netherlands
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
We are addressing the global challenge of unequal access to quality education and the lack of essential 21st-century skills - creativity, problem-solving, and agency - among children in underserved and polycrisis settings. SDG Indicator 4.7.1 calls for integrating these principles into national curricula by 2030. Globally, 234 million school-aged children are impacted by conflict, displacement, and climate-related disasters, with 85 million out of school entirely. In Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly half of crisis-affected children face severe educational barriers. (https://shorturl.at/yJkJA) Traditional systems often fail to equip children with practical, future-ready skills. Only 9% of students worldwide show strong readiness in critical problem-solving, 30% in public education remain underprepared for real-world challenges. (https://shorturl.at/72z52)
We tackles this gap by using a hands on, playful, design-based learning method that empowers children aged 8 –16 to become changemakers. Greater investment in inclusive skills for the next generation is crucial, as quality education has been proven as the most effective means to alleviate poverty, inequality, and instability. (https://shorturl.at/pPyy6) We run inclusive, scalable programs in low-resource settings that empower disadvantaged children to develop creativity, tech skills, and agency for sustainable futures.
What is your solution?
Our solution is the Designathon method - an innovative, play-based learning experience designed to empower children aged 8 -12, especially those from underserved, marginalized, and polycrisis affected communities. It combines Design Thinking with STEM and Maker Education, allowing children to explore real-world issues like water scarcity, poverty, climate change, biodiversity, inequality - then ideate, build, and present creative solutions using simple, accessible materials and technologies (recycled materials, Scratch, Micro:bits). The technological components are adapted to suit the local context, ensuring smooth and inclusive learning without reliance on internet access or advanced tools. This makes the Designathon method highly effective and accessible in low-resource and disadvantaged settings.
What makes our approach unique is its commitment to inclusivity and co-creation. We work directly with local schools, teachers, and community based organizations - all from the same communities we serve (refugee, Indigenous, and rural communities), to adapt and refine the method.
Our team is deeply embedded in the global education equity movement, and our programs are designed to be participatory, accessible, and culturally relevant - ensuring that the children we serve are not just beneficiaries, but co-creators of their learning journey and local impact. Learn more: Designathon Method.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
We serve children aged 8 to 16, who are most excluded from equitable learning - refugees (Kakuma, Egypt), those in marginalized urban neighborhoods (Nairobi, Medellín) and rural Indigenous communities (Nepal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, India, Nepal). These children face intersecting barriers: displacement, poverty, under-resourced schools, language and cultural marginalization.
Traditional education systems rarely provide these children with creative, contextualized, or empowering learning opportunities. Our solution directly addresses this gap. Through the Designathon Method, children engage in a 7-step design cycle using accessible, low-cost tools - motors, sensors, recycled materials, technology tools like micro-bits and scratch, to create prototypes that respond to real-life challenges in their communities.
Our approach is inclusive by design: gender-equitable and culturally responsive. We partner with local schools, teachers, caregivers, Government education departments and children to co-design content and delivery. Community engagement sessions ensure that children get support to shape and lead their own learning journeys.
The impact is both personal and systemic: increased confidence, school engagement and ownership, problem-solving ability, empathy, and early tech fluency. Already used in 56 countries, the method is scalable through schools, NGOs, and informal learning hubs - equipping a new generation of changemakers with the skills and agency to shape a better future.
