Artificial Intelligence and Open Data Facing Climate Change: The Data2AI Challenge Pitch Day Results
The future of Climate Action in Latin America is designed through collaborative work, Open Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
On August 19, Open Data Charter (ODC) hosted the inaugural Pitch Day of the Data2AI Challenge — Climate Action Edition LATAM at the Assembly Hall of the Executive Tower in Montevideo, Uruguay. The event marked the culmination of a six-month mentorship and incubation process with multidisciplinary teams from Colombia and Uruguay. Led by ODC with support from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, in collaboration with Uruguay’s Agency for Electronic Government and Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC) and Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MinTIC), the Data2AI Challenge supported teams in turning Open Data and AI into concrete solutions to address climate change.
Opening panels: sharing on data, AI, and environmental governance
The day began with two panels moderated by our Project Director, Mercedes de los Santos, and our consultant, Daniel Carranza. The discussions explored the importance of robust digital infrastructure, high-quality Open Data, and data reuse in addressing the climate crisis across Latin America and beyond. Initiatives such as the Data2AI Challenge demonstrate the value of putting data at the service of communities and collective knowledge.
We deeply appreciate the contributions of Virginia Pardo (AGESIC), Gustavo Suárez (AGESIC), Andrea De Nigris (Uruguay’s Ministry of Environment), Alejandra Reyes (Uruguay’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining), and María Sofía Polcaro Infanzón (Inter-American Development Bank, IDB), who shared insights from their work with Open Data and reflected on Uruguay’s progress in this field.
The conversations also highlighted the value of collaborative initiatives such as the Data2AI Challenge, which brought together environmental institutions and Open Data authorities. This cross-sector collaboration demonstrates how stronger connections between data, environmental policy, and technology can help turn shared challenges into concrete solutions.
The Pitch Day also benefited from the expertise of our jury: Carla Zilli and Guillermina Pérez (Ministry of Environment), Gustavo Suárez (AGESIC), and Mercedes de los Santos (ODC). They evaluated the teams’ final proposals based on completeness, replicability, sustainability, usability and accessibility, as well as their potential for advocacy and impact.
Winning solutions: civic technology, innovation, and territorial impact
At the heart of the event were the pitches from the eight teams participating in Data2AI Challange, who presented the solutions they had developed over six months of incubation and mentorship. Throughout the process, the teams received guidance from experts in agile methodologies and AI, helping them turn their ideas into concrete solutions.
Following the jury’s deliberation, three projects were recognized as the top solutions of this first edition:
🥇 First place: Alerta Yi. Member(s): Johan Duque (UTEC, Uruguay)
The Alerta Yí project aims to develop and implement an Early Warning System (EWS) for flooding in the city of Durazno. The system will integrate neural network-based hydrological forecasting models with data from institutional and community sources to improve flood preparedness and response. By combining Open Data, AI models, and citizen science, Alerta Yí will enable local authorities and communities to monitor river conditions in real time and better anticipate socio-environmental risks.
🥈 Second place: AgroClima Platform. Members: Santiago González and Marcela Arrazola (Colombia)
AgroClima Platform is an initiative that helps small and medium-sized farmers in Colombia’s Magdalena department optimize irrigation using open climate data and AI. The platform provides tailored recommendations to improve water use and reduce vulnerability to drought and extreme rainfall.
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🥉 Third place: Minga Abierta. Members: David Leonardo Jiménez, Natalia Hernández, and Luis Felipe Ortiz Clavijo (Colombia)
Minga Abierta is an initiative that combines community mapping, Open Data, and AI to strengthen landslide risk management in the hillsides of Medellín, Colombia. The project aims to build a community-driven Open Data ecosystem for climate risk prevention in neighborhoods and informal settlements that are often underrepresented in territorial data and planning. Through risk maps, territorial analysis, and early warning and prevention tools, Minga Abierta seeks to help communities better anticipate disasters and strengthen climate resilience.
Meet the rest of the selected teams
Beyond the three winning projects, five other teams selected to participate in Data2AI Challenge also presented the solutions they developed throughout the mentorship and incubation process. Their projects showcased diverse and innovative approaches to using Open Data and AI to address climate challenges:
- Recyclable Observatory. Team members: Marisa Cirillo, Matias Tenerello, and Federico Casa (Uruguay). The CEMPRE Recyclable Observatory aims to improve decision-making around recyclable materials by developing an open, regionally comparable model that integrates data on materials, volumes, destinations, prices, emission factors, and recovery alternatives. The project also incorporates AI agents to streamline data uploads, standardization, and queries, while helping connect stakeholders such as recycling cooperatives.
- Lucida, Light Pollution and Open Data Intelligence. Team members: Joaquín Kalabujov, Romina Pérez, Juan Blandón, and Fernando Pasini (Uruguay). LUCIDA uses Open Data, satellite imagery, and AI to monitor and analyze light pollution in Uruguay. The project developed a publicly accessible interactive viewer that brings together data on radiance, road infrastructure, buildings, land use, and proximity to protected areas. By identifying changes, anomalies, and spatial patterns, the tool helps authorities, researchers, astronomers, and other stakeholders turn complex data into evidence about the evolution of light pollution across the country.
- Civic Environmental Intelligence. Team members: Gabriel Farías and Miguel Dobrich (Uruguay). Developed by the Amenaza Roboto team, Civic Environmental Intelligence uses AI to transform lengthy environmental impact studies into accessible, searchable, and auditable information. The tool relies exclusively on official records and links each response to the specific evidence supporting it, helping reduce technical barriers to understanding and analyzing these documents. By making information about projects with potential impacts on local communities easier to navigate, the initiative seeks to strengthen public participation and advocacy.
- Guardians of the Hillside. Team members: Danny Luna (Colombia). Guardians of the Hillside transforms geospatial data into actionable climate alerts for hillside communities in Colombia. By combining Open Data and AI, the initiative seeks to anticipate landslide risks through traceable evidence, helping translate broader forecasts into information that can support timely local decision-making.
- BIO-IA, Survival Code. Team members: Johann Valbuena (Colombia). BIO-IA brings together AI and data journalism to support conservation efforts in the Amazonian foothills of Caquetá, Colombia. By combining science and Open Data, the project develops audiovisual experiences focused on endemic species, turning complex knowledge into accessible resources for territorial conservation. The initiative also aims to create educational materials that raise awareness of the impacts of climate change on Colombia’s Amazon region.
Data-driven climate action continues
We congratulate all eight teams on taking part in the inaugural edition of the Data2AI Challenge and on their creativity, responsible use of AI, and strategic reuse of Open Data to address challenges affecting at-risk communities in Colombia and Uruguay.
Together, the eight proposals demonstrate how public data and civic technology can be turned into concrete responses to environmental challenges across the region. We are especially grateful to the Patrick McGovern Foundation for supporting this initiative and helping demonstrate the value of transforming data into practical tools that serve communities.
Explore the eight projects that combined Open Data and AI to address climate challenges during the inaugural Data2AI Challenge — Climate Action Edition LATAM at https://data2aichallenge.org.
