The three day long hackathon brought together 28 youth teams from across provinces of Nepal. Selected from a national pool of applicants, the participants co-designed a bilingual (Nepali/English), offline-capable tool that enables schools to measure and track their carbon emissions. The initiative is part of the project “Strengthening a Climate Smart, Green, and Resilient Education System in Nepal”, jointly implemented by UNESCO and UNICEF and is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
The initiative began with a nationwide outreach campaign reaching youth across Nepal’s 7 provinces, including deliberate engagement with underrepresented provinces. After a competitive application process, 15 high-potential teams were selected and paired with technical and climate science experts as mentors for a 10-day virtual mentorship program. Teams refined their solutions, validated Nepal-specific emission factors, and built functional prototypes before competing in a Virtual Pitch Round on 10 June 2026, where a panel of judges shortlisted the Top 7 teams.
The program is more than just a hackathon. This is about ensuring every school in Nepal has the opportunity to learn about climate change. The reality of climate change across the world has become a form of disaster. To make our schools resilient, adaptive, and sustainable against this, programs like this are incredibly important.
Mr. Shyam Prasad Acharya, Director, Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD)
The Top 7 teams then participated in the 3-day long hackathon from 24- 26 June 2026, engaging in intensive development sprints, expert-led workshops, and speed mentorship sessions. On the final day, teams presented their Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to a distinguished panel of judges comprising representatives from CEHRD. UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and Nepal’s private sector tech giants like SecurityPal.
It’s interesting to see how 18 to 25-year-olds can really make a change. The main takeaway for me today is, you know, designing a carbon-neutral future without putting youths at the center—that’s impossible. So we need you, and thank you for all that you’ve done.
Anamica Gauchan, Adviser – Education and GESI, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal
The Winning Team
Following rigorous evaluation on scientific accuracy, usability, innovation, technical feasibility, and sustainability, the following teams were recognized:
Winner: Team Harit
Four students from Kathmandu University walked into this hackathon with one belief, that the best tool is the one a school can actually use.
Team Harit built a carbon calculator around data schools already have, bills, fuel records, waste estimates, and turned it into something simple, visual, and fully in Nepali. No complex outputs. Just clear insights that drive action. And now they’re taking it to schools.
Built by Shova Gelal, Bisesh Marasaini, Bhawana Ojha, and Jayed Alam Mansur from Kathmandu University, and now heading to real schools across Nepal.
The winning team receives an NPR 1,30,000 impact grant and will work closely with UNESCO Kathmandu to finalize the tool for piloting in selected schools across Nepal before official handover to UNESCO.
The creativity and technical ability demonstrated by youth during this hackathon show that they are not only learners, but also innovators capable of developing practical, locally relevant solutions to the climate crisis. Through this initiative, we hope to inspire learners to better understand their environmental footprint, encourage behavioral change, and contribute to greener, more resilient education systems in Nepal.
Prakriti Gurung, Lead for Natural Sciences/Programme Officer, UNESCO Kathmandu
About the Tool
The Carbon Footprint Calculator is designed to meet the specific needs of Nepal’s diverse school contexts, from urban private schools in Kathmandu to rural community schools in Karnali. Key features include:
- Bilingual interface in Nepali and English
- Offline-first functionality for schools with limited internet access
- Nepal-specific emission factors for energy, transport, water, and waste
- Alignment with the Green School Quality Standards (2024) and CEHRD’s Green School Implementation Standards
- Student-friendly design enabling classroom use and experiential learning
The winning team will now enter a 4-week incubation sprint with Shequal Foundation, during which they will refine the tool’s code, improve security, and fix bugs. The Beta Version will then be piloted in 3 schools, one private, one community, and one institutional, before the final, polished tool is officially handed over to UNESCO for adoption and scale in Nepal.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/nepals-first-youth-designed-school-carbon-footprint-calculator-built?hub=701
