Campaign Hackathon 2025 kicking off on Monday

Kathmandu, May 3: A two-day gathering of youth activists, workers from the informal sector, farmers, civil society representatives and government stakeholders will be kicking off on Monday.    

The event titled, Campaign Hackathon 2025, a joint initiative of the ActionAid Nepal, Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (NEMES) and Youth Advocacy Nepal will be focused on two of Nepal’s most pressing issues, namely climate change and decent work.    

According to NEMES' Bhagavati Adhikari, the Hackathon aims to foster an interactive, inclusive, and creative space for dialogue, collaboration, and solutions on climate change and the rights of informal sector workers.   

 
The Hackathon aims to unite organizations working on climate justice and informal labor rights in Nepal, develop strategic solutions with participants, and strengthen campaign constituencies with concrete commitments for policy change.    

The gathering will focus on highlighting key demands from the informal labour market including the guarantees of fair and minimum wages, safe and violence-free workplaces, occupational health and safety, job security, and social protection—especially for informal workers.    

It also calls for gender-responsive public services to ease the care burden on informal women workers, inclusive platforms for women, youth, and children from climate-affected communities to influence climate policies, and the integration of climate-resilient infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and sustainable livelihoods into government policies to protect vulnerable populations.    

At a press meet here on Friday, it was shared that over 80 percent labor force is engaged in informal work and often without contracts, social protections or occupational safety, leaving them highly vulnerable to exploitation and shocks like climate disasters or economic crises.

Women and marginalized groups face even greater barriers, including wage gaps, gender-based discrimination and the lack of access to secure livelihoods.    

The perspective of the event is that “climate justice and dignified labor are not separate issues, but deeply interconnected by people's struggles.” It is being held with the theme of “Solidarity towards demanding Climate Justice and Decent Work in Nepal”.(RSS)