Climathon comes to Sheffield for the first time

Climathon, an annual global event held in hundreds of cities worldwide, is set to address growing concerns about climate change and sustainability.

City organisers are able to set their own topics and challenges.

In Sheffield, Climathon is about addressing growing concerns surrounding e-waste, electronic provision and the ‘digital divide’, including challenges faced by people that can’t get online.

The circular economy of e-waste, its effect on the environment and the cause and effect of digital exclusion will also be discussed at Climathon, which will see webinars take place on November 10 and 12 before the main event on November 13.

The event series will feature keynote presentations from experts in environment, climate, engineering and digital innovation.

Confirmed speakers so far include Dr Hywel Jones from Sheffield Hallam University, Professor Lenny Koh from the University of Sheffield, Dean Sadler of TribePad, Robert Walker from Sheffield City Council, Chris Dymond of Sheffield Digital and David Richards from WANdisco, the comp any which has teamed up with The Star, Sheffield and Learn Sheffield on the new Laptops for Kids campaign.

Among those attending will be individuals from social enterprises, local and regional businesses, policy makers, schools and universities.

Sheffield’s Climathon will take place following reports that access to government-provided laptops in England has been cut by as much as 80 per cent in some schools, according to head teachers.

Hannah Byk, Climathon project manager and national account manager at BetterPoints, the organisation behind Sheffield’s Climathon, said:“Sheffield is an extremely environmentally-aware city, and we’re thrilled to be able to contribute towards improving its environmental and social innovation.”

To register for the event, click here.