By Kyamoneka Mpey Benjamin and Taylor Locke | November 10th 2025

Introduction

In a world where truth is increasingly shaped and sometimes distorted by algorithms, young people are rising to defend the integrity of information. This year, twelve members of the Global Rights Alliance (GRA) took part in the 2025 UNESCO Youth Hackathon, an exciting and challenging global initiative that forms part of UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week. Under the theme “Youth Leading the Way: Building MIL Solutions for Impact”, the hackathon brought together 1,200 teams from 124 countries, a record-breaking testament to the power of youth collaboration in tackling misinformation, online hate speech and the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence.

Amid this vibrant global community, two of our teams took part: the Youth Media Empowerment Project (YMEP) and the AITruth Campaign. Though our teams didn’t walk away with a prize, the experience was a remarkable success for GRA, opening doors for future collaboration, professional growth, and meaningful innovation in the fight for truth and integrity in the digital age.

Our Participation: Turning Challenges into Digital Solutions

GRA’s teams had members representing nine countries across four continents. These groups were headed by Kyamoneka Mpey Benjamin (DR Congo) and Taylor Locke (USA), and included dedicated members: Mohammed Amine Ait Moulay (UK), Franek Dobronski (Ireland), Vanessa Cocchiara (Italy), Furkan Gümüş (Turkey), Alexia Crawford (USA), Mary Teklay (UK), Beatrice Caldarone (Italy), Muhammad Idris (Myanmar), Solomon Gloria (Nigeria), and Octavio Verpoorten (Belgium).

This collaboration was especially meaningful as it marked the first structured initiative uniting both GRA’s Contributing and Associate Members. Despite differences in region, skills, and time zones, participants came together with a shared mission: to protect the truth and empower youth in the digital age. Through brainstorming sessions and mentorship with global experts, diverse perspectives shaped an exciting, impactful journey. The experience embodied the spirit of international co-operation central to UNESCO’s Youth Hackathon, challenging us to innovate with real-world impact in mind.

Team I: The Youth Media Empowerment Project (YMEP)

YMEP emerged from the recognition that access to reliable information remains unequal across regions. Drawing from UNESCO’s MIL framework, the project proposes a multilingual digital platform offering interactive learning modules on media literacy and fact-checking, a real-time fact-checking browser extension connected to local verification sources, and an AI-powered learning assistant providing culturally sensitive and personalised pathways. By blending global social media youth advocacy, gamified learning, and multilingual accessibility, YMEP seeks to empower youth, especially in underserved communities, to become critical consumers and ethical producers of information.

Team II: The AITruth Campaign

Building on our ongoing global initiative, AITruth addresses the rapidly growing threat of AI-facilitated misinformation, from deepfakes to algorithmic manipulation. Through a combination of education, advocacy, and storytelling, the project equips youth aged 18–35 to become digital defenders of truth. The campaign’s proposed tools include an interactive website that centralises learning resources and fact-checking tools, a certified online course titled “Truth in the Age of AI”, and a documentary film capturing how AI-generated misinformation affects real communities, from Canada to the Rohingya crisis. AITruth’s goal is simple yet profound: building a digitally resilient generation capable of upholding truth, defending democratic values, and promoting ethical AI governance.

What We Learned: Insights and Collective Reflections

Participation in the Youth Hackathon proved to be far more than a competition; it was a journey of co-creation, learning, and global solidarity. Through collaboration with peers from diverse backgrounds and from various corners of the world, our members learned to translate complex human rights challenges into practical tech-based solutions; to build interdisciplinary teamwork between legal, digital, and communication experts; and to reimagine advocacy through innovation and digital storytelling.

As GRA member Mary Teklay shared: “Through global surveys and a documentary, we uncovered how different communities understand and trust information in the digital age. This project highlighted the importance of empathy and storytelling in promoting truth.”

Fellow participant Solomon Gloria emphasised how the experience challenged them to think differently about using creativity and technology to address misinformation, while Kyamoneka Mpey Benjamin reflected: “The Hackathon taught me that while misinformation affects us differently across borders, our collective energy as young people can turn those differences into strength, transforming local experiences into global impact.”

Beyond the Hackathon: Continuing the Mission

While the Hackathon has concluded, our work is far from over. Both YMEP and AITruth will continue evolving as part of our organisation’s long-term commitment to digital rights, information integrity, and youth empowerment.

Through a collaborative effort between both teams, we are now building on the foundations laid during the Hackathon to launch a new chapter under this joint campaign. This next phase, titled “AITruth for Digital Democracy”, is a transnational initiative designed to strengthen civic resilience and rebuild trust in information ecosystems.

It seeks to empower youth to detect, challenge, and raise awareness about AI-facilitated misinformation and its growing impact on democratic participation. This programme is expected to begin implementation in early 2026, continuing the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and truth that defined our UNESCO experience.

Conclusion: Youth Leading the Information Revolution

The 2025 UNESCO Youth Hackathon proved that youth are not just participants in the digital era; they are architects of its future. Our teams’ experiences reaffirmed our belief that information integrity is a human right, and that defending it requires collaboration across borders, disciplines, and generations. As we continue this journey, we remain committed to amplifying youth voices and fostering innovation that places truth, ethics, and human dignity at the heart of the digital age.

GRA is proud to stand behind these visionary young leaders as they turn their bold ideas into action. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to support this new chapter in the fight for information integrity and human rights in the digital era.