The Foundry Vol. 1: Water Hackathon

A hackathon for charity where all generations come together to create software the world can actually use. On Saturday, October 17, 2026, 40+ people will spend one day together working on real challenges identified with WaterAid Canada. This is not a fundraiser — it's a working day. WaterAid frames the challenge areas, focused on internal business, strategy, technology and organizational opportunities, where cross-generational teams can generate practical ideas with real downstream impact! Nearly 700 million people still don't have clean water close to home, 1.5 billion lack a decent toilet, and 2 billion lack soap and water to wash their hands. You are here to help. 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 Gen Z, students bring native AI fluency and build velocity. You get real problems and a chance to learn from seniors, form a network you haven't yet built. Millennials, mid-career bring digital-product instincts bridging tooling and reality. You get cross-generational reps and a deeper AI practice. Gen X, operators bring delivery discipline and the judgement to tell what lands from what only demos well. You get hands-on AI exposure and builders half your age sharpening yours. Boomers, with domain depth will contribute with decades of knowing which problems are worth solving. You get a low-stakes way into AI and younger collaborators. 𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Engineers, scientists, designers and product builders who want a problem to put hands on. Field professionals in water, climate, health, infrastructure, manufacturing and development. Operators who've run real teams against real constraints. Communicators, researchers and strategists who can frame problems and translate across disciplines. Anyone with deep AI fluency or deep domain experience who wants a day with the other. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗟 Justin Murgai ~ CEO, WaterAid Canada Dr. Nariman Yousefi ~ Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, TMU William Wu ~ Founder & CEO, WaterH; Co-founder & CEO, Glacier Fresh 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗧 We will let you know via emails about the next steps if you are admitted! A co-production of The AI Fellowship × SOON, in support of WaterAid Canada.