In October 2026, the Bucharest Community Foundation (FCB) will organise the first WaterWise Hackathon in Bucharest, Romania, as part of the WaterWise Hub project. The event responds to a need the region knows first-hand: in June 2025, a single day of torrential rain triggered nearly 600 emergency interventions across Bucharest, while Romania was emerging from a 41-month drought, the longest in its recent history. A year later, on the night of 30 June 2026, a single storm generated over 3,200 emergency calls across Bucharest and Ilfov: flooded homes and metro stations, hundreds of damaged cars. As climate change intensifies both extremes, the case for a more resilient, circular urban water system has never been clearer.
Building on the priorities identified through WaterWise Research & Innovation Strategy, the Hackathon will focus on real challenges in Bucharest and Ilfov. Participants will work alongside local stakeholders to validate priority problems, understand community perspectives and co-create responses suited to the region’s environmental, social and governance context.
The event goes beyond technological innovation, encouraging collaboration across research, business, public authorities and civil society. Teams will combine technical, environmental, governance and community perspectives to develop concepts with the potential to evolve into future pilot projects and demonstrators.
Solutions may span a broad spectrum, from decentralised and community-based approaches to larger-scale systemic interventions, including nature-based solutions, water reuse systems, digital tools, smart monitoring technologies and new governance models.
The Hackathon is not a standalone event: it is the entry point into the broader WaterWise Hub project’s innovation ecosystem. The winning team/s will further develop their concepts through a series of 6–8 incubation workshops, receiving mentoring, expert guidance and support to strengthen their ideas and prepare them for the next stages of the WaterWise innovation journey, including pilot development and other support opportunities offered through the project.
Details on the programme, participation and registration will be announced in the coming months. Follow the WaterWise Hub newsletter and our social media to be the first to know when registration opens.
Photo credit: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
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