"Miammm!", the application to eat better, wins the "Hack for Climate"

Thunderous applause in the room. "Unanimously, the jury decided to reward the project of the community of miameurs!" says paleoclimatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte, one of the four members. "Miammm!" aims to "connect local producers and chefs with consumers who would like to eat more ecologically," says Dimitri, an engineering student and team member. Concretely, an application will tell where to go to find the local products needed for this or that recipe, for example.

Throughout the weekend, about forty researchers, engineers, designers, data scientists and students aged about 15 to 35 participated in the "Hack for climate". The goal: to build digital projects aimed at "raising awareness among the general public and supporting them in the evolution of their habits to face the climate emergency".

This "hackathon", a cross between the terms "hacker" and "marathon", was organized by the consulting and production company Ekino, with the collective "Pour un réveil écologique" and the École du design de Nantes Atlantique. It took place in the heart of Paris, in a coworking space at the entrance of which are lined up piles of petit fours.

"Worlds from different backgrounds looking for solutions"

The atmosphere is studious this Sunday afternoon, each of the six groups works on the "pitch" of its project in front of the jury. "You have 10 minutes left," says an organizer at the microphone. "They are always super studious since yesterday, it's striking," enthuses Germain Forestier, teacher-researcher who came especially from Mulhouse (Bas-Rhin) and member of the jury.

The jury was composed of Valérie Masson-Delmotte, paleoclimatologist and co-chair of IPCC Group 1 until July. LP/Jean-Baptiste Quentin

Each group was assigned a theme (housing, public service, food, transport, consumer goods). The projects presented are varied, in addition to "Miammm!": collaborative platform allowing residents of the same neighborhood to engage in ecological approaches, application to easily find how to adapt its modes of transport in the city, website to centralize aid for energy renovation, etc.

"After growing the company, I asked myself how to have a positive impact on more people," says Malo Gaudry, 48, president of Ekino, which has 350 employees in France. He himself has long been aware of climate issues. Her 17-year-old daughter is vegetarian, dresses second-hand, rarely flies, etc.

Mass deployment by 2024?

Valérie Masson-Delmotte, co-chair of IPCC Group 1 until July, was not difficult to convince to be part of the jury. "It's great to see worlds from different backgrounds dedicating a spring weekend to looking for solutions. And what is striking is their young age! " she says shortly before sitting in front of the presentation screen. The IPCC does not recommend anything – "It is not in our remit," recalls the scientist – it only makes an observation.

To deliberate, the jury took into account practical issues: is the project deployable on a large scale? And in the short term? The winner will be accompanied to find funding. He now knows his goal: that his device is "available to the general public in 2024". And Dimitri concludes: "We intend to achieve this, even if we risk losing sight of each other a little."