About the Challenge

The #75HER Challenge Hackathon is part of CreateHER Fest's 75-day build journey culminating in an International Women's Day Celebration (March 8, 2026). This program focuses on creating technology with and for women and marginalized communities—breaking patterns through thoughtful innovation.

This isn't just about shipping "cool tech." It's about building problem-framed, evidence-backed, responsible solutions that real people can use.

Program Journey:
Learn-a-thon → Idea-thon → Hackathon → Demo Day (March 8, 2026)

Throughout the program, builders engage with mentors, peers, and guided resources designed to support learning, iteration, and responsible decision-making. Whether you're building your first prototype or refining existing skills, the goal is the same: choose a problem that matters, scope it realistically, and ship something you're proud to demo.

 

Participation Expectations (Important)

75HER is a participation-based challenge, not a submission-only event. You don't need to complete all 75 days to participate; however, the program rewards sustained engagement, not last-minute uploads.

To be eligible for final judging and Community Builder Awards, participants must:

  • Complete CreateHER Fest registration (even if you found this via Devpost)
  • Complete the Onboarding Quest (info in the Participant Guide)
  • Demonstrate participation across the program, such as:
    • Attending a workshop or live session
    • Contributing during Idea-thon (sharing a blueprint or peer feedback)
    • Incorporating mentor or peer feedback into your build
    • Completing a build-related quest or challenge
    • Engaging in Discord community discussions

Solo or Team Builds

Community Builder Awards are designed to reinvest in active partic and teams who have been building with community throughout the program. This collaboration strengthens the learning environment, fosters community culture, and ensures submissions reflect active engagement.

 

Tracks

Projects must align with at least one of the following tracks:

  • 🤖 AI / Machine Learning – Must use Goose (Block's open-source agentic AI framework). This is required for AI/ML track eligibility.
  • ⛓️ Blockchain
  • 🥽 AR / VR / XR

Hybrid projects are welcome. If your solution spans multiple tracks, clearly explain which track best represents your primary focus and how the technology supports your intended impact.

Note: Each project is considered for one track award to ensure multiple projects are recognized.

 

Demo Day & Presentations

📅 March 8, 2026 (International Women's Day!) | 🕘 9:00 AM EST

After submissions close on March 7, eligible submitters will present their projects live during Demo Day.

Format:

  • 3-5 minute live demo of your working prototype
  • 2-minute Q&A with judges
  • Opportunity to showcase your work to the CreateHER community

Schedule by Track:

  • AI/ML: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST
  • AR/VR/XR: 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM EST
  • Blockchain: 11:10 AM – 12:00 PM EST

Platform details will be shared with registered participants before Demo Day.

🏆 Winners Announced: March 16, 2026

 

How to Get Started

  1. Choose a track that aligns with your skills or learning goals
  2. Pick a user you care about and identify a specific problem they face
  3. Join the community on Discord where teams are actively brainstorming and refining ideas
  4. Register at createherfest.com/75her-challenge

Build Journey:

  • Learn-a-thon (completed): Upskill in AI/ML, AR/VR, or Blockchain
  • Idea-thon (completed): Shape your problem and solution with mentor feedback
  • Hackathon (Feb 16 - Mar 7): Build, test, and polish your prototype
  • Demo Day (Mar 8): Present to judges and community

New to hackathons? Start small: define one user, one painful problem, and one success test you can reasonably achieve within the build phase. The tools, mentors, and resources are here to help you bring it to life.

Requirements

What to Build

Participants should submit a working prototype that solves a real, specific problem for a clearly defined user.

Projects are evaluated on five criteria:

  • 📝 Clarity (25%) – Clear problem definition and observable success test
  • ✅ Proof (25%) – Demo runs from clean start with linked evidence
  • 👥 Usability (20%) – Accessible, readable, user-appropriate design
  • 🧠 Rigor (20%) – Documented decisions, risks addressed, tradeoffs explained
  • ✨ Polish (10%) – Timeboxed, realistic scope with professional execution

Strong submissions demonstrate thoughtful problem framing, documented learning, and responsible execution—not just technical complexity.

⚠️ Concept-only ideas without a working demo will not be competitive.

 

What to Submit

Your Devpost submission must include:

1. Working Prototype (Required)

Choose one:

  • Hosted link (preferred): Live, interactive demo with no login required for core functionality
  • Demo file: Runnable file (APK, executable, Unity build, notebook) with setup instructions in README

💡 Best practice: Include a fallback (screenshots or screen recording) in case your hosted link goes down during judging.

2. Demo Video (3–5 minutes, YouTube) (Required)

Create a 3-5 minute YouTube video (public or unlisted) that includes:

  1. Problem Statement – Who is your user and what problem do they face?
  2. Solution Overview – What does your prototype do? What's your Success Test?
  3. Live Demo – Screen recording showing core features from a clean start
  4. Impact & SDG Alignment – Which UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution advance?
  5. Idea-thon Feedback (if applicable) – How you incorporated mentor feedback

Requirements: Captions recommended, clear audio, readable visuals

3. Code Repository (GitHub/GitLab) (Required)

Public repository link with:

  • ✅ Commit history POST January 6th, 2026
  • ✅ Quickstart: 1-command setup with .env.example (no real secrets)
  • ✅ Project overview: What it does, tech stack, dependencies
  • ✅ Architecture: Simple explanation of how main components connect
  • ✅ Decision Log: Key technical choices and tradeoffs
  • ✅ Known issues & next steps
  • ✅ License: Open-source license (MIT, Apache, GPL, etc.)
  • ✅ Credits: Datasets, APIs, and assets with proper attribution
4. Project Documentation (Required)

Clear documentation is a major differentiator in judging. High-scoring teams typically include:

  • 📋 4-Line Problem Frame (User, Problem, Constraints, Success Test)
  • 📚 Evidence Log for sources and licenses
  • ⚠️ Risk Log documenting at least one issue identified and resolved
  • 💬 3-Line Pitch (headline, subhead, CTA) in the Devpost description

These artifacts help judges understand how you thought, not just what you built.

5. Accessibility & Integrity
  • ✅ Captions & alt text recommended, readable copy, and reasonable color contrast
  • ⚠️ No exposed PII (Personal Identifiable Information), fabricated stats, unlicensed IP, committed secrets, or broken demos—these may result in disqualification 
Reference our Submission Checklist for the ultimate success!

 

Awards & Categories

CreateHER Fest offers Community Builder Awards to active participants who have been building and learning with the community throughout the program.

Track Awards
  • 🤖 Best Use of AI/ML (with Goose) – $600
  • 🥽 Best Use of AR/VR/XR – $500
  • ⛓️ Best Use of Blockchain – $400
Award Notes:
  • Each project can only win one track award
  • Submissions must select one primary category (AI/ML, AR/VR/XR, or Blockchain) for their project so it can be evaluated alongside similar approaches
  • Teams of 1-5: At least one member of each award-eligible team should have actively participated in the 75HER Challenge (e.g., attending a live session or engaging in Discord)
  • Full award details, eligibility, and distribution will be listed on the main Devpost page and may be updated as sponsors are confirmed

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$1,500 in prizes
Best Use of AI/ML (with Goose)
$600 in cash
1 winner

Best Use of AR/VR/XR
$500 in cash
1 winner

Best Use of Blockchain
$400 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Ebony Louis

Ebony Louis
DevRel | goose

Darlyze Calixte

Darlyze Calixte
Co-Founder | CreateHER Fest

Adriann Guy

Adriann Guy
Co-Founder | CreateHER Fest

Janki Gabani

Janki Gabani
Data Scientist | Casepoint Pvt. Ltd.

Judging Criteria

  • Clarity
    (25% or 25 points) Problem statement (card) is crisp, Success Test is observable, demo is clear and reproducible
  • Proof
    (25% or 25 points) Demo passes from clean start, Evidence Log is linked, sources are cited
  • Usability
    (20% or 20 points) 3-Line Pitch is clear, design accessibility, readability
  • Rigor
    (20% or 20 points) README has Decisions & Next Risks documented, at least one risk fixed, tradeoffs explained
  • Polish
    (10% or 10 points) Realistic scope, tidy repo/files, no broken links, clean file structure

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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