Pilot Hackathon Unites Journalists and Civil Society to Bridge Central Asia’s Digital Divide with AI
News details
As part of the EU-funded AGILE project implemented by CFI, a November 2025 hackathon event in Astana brought together diverse disciplines to create innovative solutions for millions disconnected from verified information.
This initiative is a cornerstone of AGILE (Advancing Global Innovation and Learning Effectively), a project funded by the European Union (EU) that operates on a global scale. CFI led the activity, which was supported by Istorias Media and the North Kazakhstan Legal Media Center.
The urgency of this mission is underscored by the region's reality. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has highlighted the increasingly precarious state of press freedom in Central Asia. In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, the majority of the region's nations are classified as having a "difficult" or "very serious" situation. In a landscape where CFI identifies a critical need to strengthen resilience against shrinking civic space, the ability to bypass traditional barriers — whether linguistic, economic, or political — is not just a technical convenience, but a democratic necessity.
Read more about the event: https://cfi.fr/en/news/pilot-hackathon-unites-journalists-and-civil-society-bridge-central-asias-digital-divide-ai
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This is a very interesting project and is highly needed. We are not just being inspired by technology, but we also learning from other countries that struggle, to become efficient due to lack of technology as electricity. Artificial Intelligence tools need careful applications that can identify and solve problems in real-time. However, journalists and the Civil Society need to communicate issues earlier, to reduce environmental issues such as wastage and carbon emissions. Thank you.