Sixteen teams of civic activists, developers and designers from across the Eastern Partnership countries worked on turning their innovative ideas into practical solutions for civic challenges in the region during the EaP Civic Tech Hackathon in Chisinau from 17 to 19 April 2026. On Sunday, five top-scoring ideas were selected to compete for EU support to bring their products to life.
Organised by the EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility, the Hackathon built on a three-week online incubation programme, during which the selected teams worked with mentors to refine their ideas, strengthen their concepts and prepare for the offline event in Chisinau.
Opening the Hackathon, Lucia Arguellova, Programme Officer at the Directorate General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) of the European Commission, said: “Across the Eastern Partnership region, many activists and civil society organisations are facing increasingly difficult conditions. Yet, despite the challenges, we continue to believe that democracy is the best way forward, that human rights matter, and that the people who defend them must have a voice and be able to act.”
This year’s teams worked on a wide range of civic tech ideas: from AI-powered tools that detect disinformation, political manipulation and hate campaigns, to platforms that strengthen the resilience, cybersecurity and wellbeing of civil society organisations. Other teams developed solutions to support refugees and internally displaced persons, promote media literacy and dialogue, support women in vulnerable situations, and help citizens better understand what is happening in their communities.
“This Hackathon brings together civic activists and technical experts from across all six Eastern Partnership countries to develop digital solutions for the challenges their communities face. It is inspiring to see so many young people using technology not only creatively, but also to strengthen civil society, counter disinformation and support democratic values.” – added Lucia Arguellova.
During the three-day Hackathon, the teams received support from a multidisciplinary group of mentors with expertise in product design, software development, cybersecurity, testing, pitching and sustainability. On the final day, they presented their prototypes to the other participants, mentors and organisers.
Following the participants’ and mentors’ vote, five teams were nominated for the EaP Civic Tech Award, securing their chance to compete for EU funding to bring their solutions to the next stage of development and launch.
The 2026 EaP Civic Tech Award Nominees
The following solutions were nominated for the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Award:
- Online system for Ukrainian CSOs providing services to find potential partners to implement citizens’ requests for support and generate reports on the completed requests.
- AI-powered system for fact-checking the consistency of politicians’ public statements.
- AI-powered system for CSOs to self-assess their capacities and receive recommendations for strengthening their organisations.
- AI-powered platform to monitor cross-border spreading of pro-Russian narratives.
- Online platform allowing scholars and researchers to verify published academic articles and research papers for the correctness of the information and citation and to detect AI-generated content.
But the Hackathon was about much more than competition. “Although we didn’t win, we gained far more than we expected. I developed many new skills and even shifted my perspective on building civic tech products,” shared Alexei, a participant from Moldova.
The nominated teams will now be invited to submit detailed applications for the next stage of the competition. One or more winners of the 2026 EaP Civic Tech Award will receive financial and expert support from the European Union; the winners are expected to be announced in June 2026.
More information about the EaP Civic Tech Hackathons. For further information or more details about the Hackathon please contact us at [email protected].
