Latitude59, the Estonian flagship startup and technology conference, has announced a partnership with the VONA Hackathon which aims to tackle the urgent environmental challenges faced by Ukraine due to war damage.

The VONA: Inside Ecocide Hackathon will take place from May 14-16, 2024 during the Cannes Film Festival. Latitude59 is seeking ten startups to join the hackathon in Cannes, and additional teams will be able to participate online. “Latitude59’s strategy includes establishing partnerships with global and local initiatives to identify promising startups that can benefit from our network of investors and mentors. We invite startups to be part of VONA Hackathon, as we truly believe that technology can make a real difference in Ukraine. Together we can create a better world for generations to come,” said Liisi Org, CEO of Latitude59.

The VONA Movement is inspired by a documentary film project of the same name, “VONA: inside Ecocide”. The VONA Hackathon seeks to involve startups and technology companies capable of adapting their existing technologies to address any of the problem statements. During the hackathon, teams will collaborate with challenge owners, who provide insights into the problem, and a pool of mentors to achieve the best results. 

“When we think of the destruction caused by war, we first think about the lives and cities that have been lost, but war destroys the environment and creates serious problems for nature. This should be a war crime. In a partnership with the VONA Hackathon we hope to find teams who are ready to adapt their existing technologies to build a solution for Ukraine together with our top level mentors and showcase it at the biggest film festival in the world,” said Kai Isand, the Head of Program at Latitude59.

Ambassadors of the VONA Movement include Kaja Kallas, the current Prime Minister of Estonia, and Oleksandra Matviichuk, the first Ukrainian Nobel laureate and a human rights defender in Ukraine and the OSCE region.

According to Liisi Org, the CEO of Latitude59, Latitude59 will do several things to show support to Ukraine. “We’ll have Ukranian founders showcase on the founders stage and a delegation from Ukraine will be present in our demo area with startups. We’ll also raise money to help Ukraine win and more information about it will be announced soon,” added Liisi Org. In the meanwhile:

• Apply to join the VONA: Inside Ecocide Hackathon.
• To support Ukrainian startup ecosystem, Latitude59 offers an 80% discount on ticket prices for Ukrainian founders (fill the form in at the bottom of the ticketing options to apply).
• In addition, Latitude59 is actively supporting the initiative within the Estonian startup community, Woola run aka “Estonian mafia runs for Ukraine.” The run with a good cause is taking place already on April 25, 2024 – with the Latitude59 team participating – but the donation line to bring more MedEvac units to Ukraine is open here, even beyond the named date. Let’s be bold and make a difference, together!

About Latitude59 Latitude59 2024 is taking place on May 22-24 at Kultuurikatel in Tallinn, Estonia. This year, nearly 3,000 participants, including 800 startup representatives and 500 investors from around the world, are expected to attend the event. An investment of up to one million euros will be offered at Latitude59’s Pitch Competition for the second year in a row, this time in cooperation with Specialist VC and the Estonian Business Angels Network EstBAN.