iSAFE Hackathon
A global, hybrid hackathon to build trustworthy generative AI that defends truth, protects citizens, and promotes online peace.
An Official Pre-Summit Event of the AI Impact Summit 2026
3
Edition
120+
Countries
1500+
Participants
$20K
Prize Pool
Why This Matters?
Generative AI can create content at scale — images, video, audio, and text. That capability is a force for good, and a source of new harms: deepfakes, targeted scams, automated disinformation, and model misuse. HackForTrust invites the global community to build practical, deployable tools that protect truth, safeguard citizens, and make AI accountable. This is a hands-on competition: prototypes must be demonstrable and ready for pilot testing.
Event Timeline
Your journey to building digital trust
November 20, 2025
Launch
Official launch of the Global iSAFE Hackathon
November 20, 2025 – March 31, 2026
Registration Period
Participants can register individually or as teams; open to global participants
April 1 – April 30, 2026
Shortlisting Phase
Evaluation of submitted ideas/concepts; top 50 entries are shortlisted
May 5, 2026
Finalists Announcement
Official announcement of top 20 teams selected for the Development Round
May 10, 2026
Mentorship Session
Mentorship and guidance session for finalists
May 10 – May 22, 2026
Virtual Presentations
Top 20 finalists present their working solutions or demo videos virtually
July 6 – July 10, 2026
Winner Announcement @ WSIS Forum 2026
Top 10 finalists pitch to jury at WSIS Forum 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland. Live demo, Q&A session, and selection of 3 winners
Competition Tracks
Choose your challenge and innovate
Detect the Deceptive
Tracing Synthetic Realities
Problem Statement
Synthetic content — AI-generated images, deepfakes, cloned voices, and fabricated texts — has blurred the line between truth and deception. The challenge is to design GenAI-powered tools that can detect, authenticate, and trace the origins of such content across platforms.
Core Challenge
Build systems capable of verifying digital media authenticity, providing content provenance, and flagging manipulative or synthetic content in real time.
Expected Outcome
A robust AI-driven verification system capable of identifying and classifying deceptive content with high accuracy.
Expected Deliverables
- Working prototype with real-time detection accuracy metrics
- Dataset or model fine-tuned for deepfake/synthetic content classification
- Demo-ready browser extension or verification dashboard
Ideas to Explore
- AI Watermark & Provenance Detectors: Verify content authenticity and trace its digital lineage
- Cross-Platform Deepfake Verifiers: Unified detection API for image, video, and text manipulations
- AI Truth Lens Browser Plug-ins: Real-time deception detection integrated with browsers and messengers
- Voice Clone Authenticity Checkers: Distinguish genuine human voices from AI-generated imitations
Defend the Digital Citizen
AI for Protection and Empowerment
Problem Statement
With GenAI accelerating scams, frauds, and misinformation, citizens need AI allies to stay informed and safe. The challenge invites solutions that use Generative AI to proactively educate, guide, and protect users from emerging digital threats.
Core Challenge
Design AI-powered educational or assistive systems that simulate real-world scam scenarios, train users to identify manipulative patterns, and offer personalized protection advice.
Expected Outcome
An AI-powered digital safety ecosystem that helps users recognize and avoid scams, enhances cyber awareness.
Expected Deliverables
- Working AI assistant or simulation module
- Learning outcomes or training effectiveness report
- UX flow demonstrating human–AI safety learning
Ideas to Explore
- Conversational AI Assistants for cyber hygiene and scam prevention
- Generative Role-Play Simulators to train users in recognizing phishing or AI manipulation
- AI Mentors for Vulnerable Groups — children, women, seniors — guiding them toward safe digital practices
Building the Guardrails of Trustworthy AI
Practical Red-Teaming & Governance
Problem Statement
As Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI tools become more integrated into daily life, they also become potential vectors for misinformation, bias, and misuse. The challenge is to create real, testable safety guardrails that make AI systems safer, transparent, and aligned with human and societal values.
Core Challenge
Develop tools or frameworks that can test, monitor, and govern the behavior of AI models in real-world settings — making them more accountable and predictable.
Expected Outcome
A functional prototype or dashboard demonstrating how AI systems can be tested or audited for safety and alignment.
Expected Deliverables
- A functional prototype or dashboard demonstrating how AI systems can be tested or audited for safety and alignment
- Documentation describing the framework, ethical considerations, and use cases
- Dataset or evaluation results showing how the system improves AI behavior over baseline models
Ideas to Explore
- AI Red Team Simulator: A sandbox where developers can test LLMs against prompt injection, jailbreaks, or harmful content scenarios
- Trustworthiness Scorecard: A dashboard that measures model safety, bias, and compliance based on inputs and outputs
- Ethics Layer Plugin: A middleware tool that sits between user prompts and model responses, filtering unsafe or misleading outputs
- LLM Audit API: API that logs and explains decisions made by the model to support transparency and regulatory auditing
Create for Peace
Generative AI for Social Good and Digital Civility
Problem Statement
Amid growing digital toxicity, misinformation, and polarization, this challenge reimagines Generative AI as a force for empathy, education, and peacebuilding. The goal is to create AI systems that inspire positive behavior and social resilience.
Core Challenge
Harness the creative power of GenAI to educate, unite, and heal — through storytelling, art, and immersive experiences promoting peace and digital ethics.
Expected Outcome
A GenAI-powered peace tech solution that inspires constructive dialogue and strengthens social harmony.
Expected Deliverables
- Creative GenAI application prototype (text, visual, or immersive)
- Storyboards or campaign content samples
- Impact measurement framework for community engagement
Ideas to Explore
- Generative Storytelling Engines that teach empathy and digital harmony
- AI Campaigns for Digital Civility — narrative-driven outreach countering hate and misinformation
- Generative AR/VR Experiences for peace education and AI ethics learning
Enhance the CyberPeace Chatbot
Generative & Agentic AI Capabilities
Problem Statement
CyberPeace currently hosts a chatbot designed to promote online safety and responsible digital behavior. The next phase of innovation focuses on transforming this chatbot into an intelligent, context-aware, and proactive digital peace agent through the integration of Generative AI, CyberPeace GPT, and Agentic AI frameworks.
Core Challenge
Design and develop advanced modules that empower the CyberPeace Chatbot to provide real-time, adaptive, and personalized guidance to users on cyber safety, misinformation, mental health, and ethical AI use.
Expected Outcome
A working prototype of the upgraded CyberPeace Chatbot with integrated GenAI + Agentic AI capabilities.
Expected Deliverables
- A working prototype of the upgraded CyberPeace Chatbot with integrated GenAI + Agentic AI
- Technical documentation explaining data pipelines, agent design, and ethical safeguards
- Dashboard for monitoring chatbot activity, safety analytics, and feedback loops
Registration & Submission
What you need to prepare
Team Formation
- Anyone globally — students, researchers, startups, NGOs, and early-stage companies
- Maximum team size: 3 members
- Team-based participation encouraged
- Open to global participants
Submission Requirements
- Source code & Repository: Link to project's code repository (GitHub, GitLab) with open-source license
- Working Demo: Deployed app, Docker container, or hosted instance; alternatively, short video or interactive environment
- Supporting Material: 3–5 minute video walkthrough explaining features, architecture, and results; screenshots, diagrams, API specs, user guides
- Team & Contributor Info: Short bio or description for each contributor with pictures; company/organization overview if applicable
Additional Requirements
Clearly define the problem your solution tackles, the proposed AI-driven approach, and the impact it will have on cybersecurity. Highlight how your solution was designed, any unique algorithms or techniques used, and how AI improves upon existing methods.
Create an open-source (or openly distributed) solution that addresses pressing cybersecurity challenges by integrating AI. Include information on the open-source license you're using to ensure others can freely adapt and build upon your work.
Evaluation Framework
How submissions are evaluated
Innovation & Technical Depth
Trust & Safety Integration
Societal Impact & Usability
Scalability & Localization (Indic languages included)
Presentation, Documentation & Ethics
Process
The panel includes AI researchers, CyberPeace leads, industry partners, policy experts, and civil society.
Ideation Round
Submission of concept + flow design. Shortlisting of top 50 ideas
Development Round
Mentorship + prototype building. Submission of working solution or demo video. Shortlisting of top 20 finalists
Grand Finale
Top 10 finalists pitch to jury. Live demo and Q&A session. Selection of 3 winners
Finale Details
- Top 10 finalists present at WSIS Forum 2026 (July 6-10, 2026) in Geneva, Switzerland
- Live prototype demonstration required
- Q&A session with jury panel
- Selection of 3 winners announced during the Forum
Format: Hybrid — Global online build + Finale at New Delhi + Opportunity to Showcase at Bharat Mandapam. Winner announcement during WSIS Forum 2026 (July 6-10, 2026) in Geneva, Switzerland
Who Can Participate?
Open to innovators across nations
University Students
AI Researchers and Students
CyberPeace Corps
Volunteers and Innovators
Startups
Trust & Safety, Fintech, Media Tech
Defence & Police
Academics for Red-Team-Blue-Team Drills
Proposed Themes
Five powerful tracks to choose from
Detect the Deceptive
Trace, verify, and neutralize synthetic media (images, video, voice, text).
Defend the Digital Citizen
Build proactive GenAI tools that prevent scams, educate vulnerable users, and rebuild trust.
Building the Guardrails of Trustworthy AI
Practical red-teaming, audit, and real-time governance tools for LLMs.
Create for Peace
Generative experiences that teach empathy, counter polarization, and rebuild civic resilience.
Enhance the CyberPeace Chatbot
Integrate Generative AI, CyberPeace GPT, and Agentic AI to make CyberPeace's chatbot an active digital peace agent.
Prizes & Support
Over
$20,000
worth of prizes
includes provision of cloud credits and technology licenses to accelerate project development to top teams
Cash Prizes
Winners will receive cash prizes and recognition
Cloud Credits
Selected teams can apply for partner cloud credits and technology licenses
Incubation Support
Support for startup incubation to help transform ideas into viable businesses
Pilot Projects
Fast-track pilots with CyberPeace for winning teams
ITU Internships
Exclusive internship opportunities at ITU, offering hands-on experience in AI and cybersecurity
Global Exposure
Global exposure and visibility at the prestigious WSIS Forum 2026, connecting innovators with industry leaders