WOUGNET National Civic Tech Innovation Hackathon on Freedom of Expression (FoE)

Uganda has made significant strides in recognizing and protecting women’s rights, both domestically and through international commitments. Despite the existing legal frameworks, women-led civil society organizations (CSOs) in Uganda still face numerous barriers to their existence and operations, including new laws and policies that restrict rights and freedoms, particularly freedom of expression. The 1995 Constitution of Uganda guarantees equality and non-discrimination based on gender. Furthermore, Uganda is a signatory to various international treaties and conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

With support from the Commonwealth Foundation, WOUGNET is currently implementing the Civil Society in Uganda Participation Program, aimed at fostering vibrant and resilient women-led civil society organizations (CSOs).
WOUGNET is working with civil society and Government to contribute to a more open and secure environment for women-led civil society organisations in Uganda by increasing knowledge of policies governing freedom of expression and access to information to improve legal compliance and to address gaps that contribute to misinterpretation and misapplication of policies. 

The WOUGNET National Civic Tech Innovation Hackathon on Freedom of Expression  aims to unite innovators and stakeholders nationwide to develop civic technology solutions that address barriers to women’s digital freedom of expression, civic participation and access to information. We invite innovators and stakeholders, whether individuals, groups, or organizations to participate in this exciting event and submit their concept notes by Friday 25th April, 2025. Successful applicants will be contacted to pitch and present their ideas and innovations. Only successful applicants will be contacted.

What are we looking for? 

The hackathon seeks tech-driven solutions that: 

• Safeguard women’s freedom of expression in online and offline spaces
• Improve women’s access to information, especially in marginalized communities
• Strengthen digital resilience for women-led CSOs against restrictive policies
• Promote digital security and online safety for Women Human Rights Defenders
• Leverage AI and open data source to enhance civic participation

Prizes  AND Opportunities

• A cash prize of  One Million Five Hundred Thousand Uganda Shillings (1,500,000 UGX)  will be awarded to each of the top three innovations.
• Mentorship, networking and potential further funding opportunities for outstanding solutions

Theme: Civic Tech Innovation on Freedom Of Expression

Objective: Develop innovative solutions that enhance and protect women’s Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and resilience of women-led civil society organizations.

Eligibility: Open to all Ugandans. Participation can be individual or in teams not exceeding three members. A member can only belong to one team. 

Duration: Interested applicants should submit their concept notes by Friday 25th April, 2025. Successful applicants will be invited to present their prototypes, innovations, and ideas to a panel of judges who will evaluate them based on a predefined criteria to select the top three innovations.

Interested applicants should submit their concepts Here

Evaluation criteria

Applications will be evaluated basing on the following criteria:

• Innovation: Originality and creativity of the solution.
• Impact: Potential of the solution to enhance FoE and resilience of CSOs.
• Feasibility: Practicality, scalability and inclusivity of the solution.
• Technical Achievement: Quality of the technical implementation.
• Presentation: Clarity and effectiveness of the presentation/demo.
• Gender-responsiveness: Gender responsive design and potential to prevent gender backlash.

GOOD LUCK!!!