On 30 and 31 October, Treehouse Amsterdam Noord hosted the first edition of the Future Matters Hackathon: a two-day creative design event where more than 60 vocational students from ROC Noord (NDSM) worked together on a social, digital challenge: design the social platform of the future that stimulates creativity and connection among young people.
Two days full of creativity, collaboration and innovation
During the hackathon, students from the Media Design and Sign Maker programmes worked in teams of five on a concept for a new social platform that stimulates community, creativity and connection between young people.
During two intensive days, they were guided by creative professionals Bas Kosters, Roos Groothuizen, Douwe-Sjoerd Boschman, Oscar van Leest and The Hmm, who shared their expertise and helped refine ideas and prototypes.
The programme offered space for reflection and action: from analysing existing social media and discovering shared values to developing their own vision of how social platforms can play a positive role in society in the future.
Five promising ideas
At the end of the second day, the teams presented a total of five innovative concepts to the jury. The race for the prize ultimately came down to three striking ideas: Difference, MixArt and Art Catchers.
- Difference focuses on neurodiverse young people and aims to bring them together, share experiences and strengthen their sense of belonging within a safe online community.
- MixArt wants to connect young people from different backgrounds by making art together and developing creative projects — a platform where collaboration and expression are central.
- Art Catchers invites users to photograph and upload works of art they encounter in everyday life and share their knowledge of art with each other — a creative journey of discovery through the city, connected online.
From idea to implementation
After inspiring presentations and an exciting judging process, the winning team was announced. The winners will be able to realise their concept during the Future Village 2026 youth art festival — a unique opportunity to bring their ideas to life for a wide audience.
More information about the festival can be found on the Future Village page on the ELJA Foundation website.
A glimpse into the future
The Future Matters Hackathon showed how powerful the combination of young talent, social themes and creative technology can be. The commitment and enthusiasm of the students proved that the future of digital innovation is in good hands.
Future Matters Hackathon was realised in collaboration with the ELJA Foundation. The ELJA Foundation is a philanthropic fund that develops innovative programmes with important cultural organisations in the fields of music, dance and visual arts, enabling children and young people from different backgrounds to be better prepared for their future and become more connected with each other.
