By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer
On February 27, Ethọ́s Lab will host its Black Futures Month Blackathon. The fourth annual hackathon event will build “on a tradition of honouring Black innovation while equipping youth with real-world problem-solving skills.” Past years have focused on Black inventors, like video game console revolutionary Gerald Lawson, or locomotive safety visionary Andrew Jackson Beard.
The lab itself is a non-profit designed to “make STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Applied Arts, and Math) accessible and exciting by offering afterschool project-based programs and in-school activations for youth in Grades 5–12.” They shared that their “approach to innovation is grounded in the African philosophy of Ubuntu ‘I am because we are,’ providing inclusive dynamic learning spaces that build community and centres the interconnected nature of innovation.”
For Blackathon 2026, “participants will dive into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and, using equity, critical thinking and design, will reimagine Hogan’s Alley” — a vibrant Vancouver neighbourhood that “was home to Vancouver’s largest Black and African diaspora community.” In the 1960s, the city levelled the area to build a freeway and displaced the Black Canadians who lived there.
“Reimagining Hogan’s Alley is about more than redesigning a space, it’s about reimagining possibility. Students engage with Hogan’s Alley not only as a historical site, but as a living story shaped by culture, displacement, resilience, and future vision.”
— Faidat Olatunbosun, Ethọ́s Lab outreach manager
“Through the ‘Ubuntu Innovation Cycle,’ students empathize with the lived experiences and histories connected to Hogan’s Alley [and] story futures that honour cultural memory while imagining regeneration,” she added.
In addition to this year’s Blackathon, the lab will be expanding into a larger physical space, one that it will share with UBC Geering Up and Hogan’s Alley Society. The transition “allows us to host deeper, more immersive programming, welcome more youth and community partners, and connect learning more directly to real-world applications,” said Olatunbosun. The new space will include a dance studio, shared makerspace, sound and podcast booths, and more.
Olatunbosun also shared how “Ethọ́s Lab approaches AI with intentionality and curiosity. We don’t position AI as the decision-maker. Instead, we teach students to use AI as a collaborative tool — one that supports ideation, iteration, and exploration while keeping human judgment, transparency, and cultural values at the centre.”
In workshops, youth “learn how to prompt AI intentionally, how to assess outputs critically, how to recognize bias and limitations,” and “how to use AI in ways that serve community impact, not convenience.
“At its core, the Blackathon is about shifting narratives from consumer to creator, from individual success to collective impact, [and] from technology as novelty to technology as responsibility,” she added.
“This year’s Blackathon is the culmination of intentional preparation through mandatory readiness workshops. Students don’t just arrive and compete, they arrive prepared to design with intention,” Olatunbosun shared.
To participate in the Blackathon, youth must complete a readiness workshop on February 7. Those interested can register or find more information at ethoslab.ca.