Australians invited to enter global ADIR Challenge
ADIR stands for Anti-hate Disruptive Innovative Responses, and the initiative is dedicated to the memory of Lotan's slain nephew.
When Morielle Lotan learned that her nephew, 23-year-old Addir Mesika, had sacrificed his life to save others at the Nova music festival during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, the consultant to climate tech startups and investors was nearly paralysed with grief.
But that feeling was soon replaced with determination.
“I needed to find the biggest possible challenge to rally behind,” she said.
Now, Lotan has landed on what that should be – an international competition to find tech solutions to fight antisemitism, leveraging innovation, the energy of Israel’s start-up ecosystem, and the global collective wisdom of diverse problem-solvers, particularly from the Jewish Diaspora, including here in Australia.
On March 6, New York-based Lotan launched the first phase of the ADIR Challenge, created in collaboration with Israeli entrepreneur and former head of research at XPRIZE, Shay Hershkovitz.
This inspirational initiative is supported by several major Jewish not-for-profits in the United States, including the USC Shoah Foundation, UJA Federation New York and the Anti-Defamation League – and in Australia through the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC).
ADIR stands for Anti-hate Disruptive Innovative Responses, and the initiative is dedicated to the memory of Lotan’s slain nephew.
It will start with an ideas competition, with applications due by April 30 and winners announced on May 14.
Creative ideas are being sought from individuals to design pioneering competitions that address antisemitism, and could lead to the development of groundbreaking solutions that disrupt the spread of hatred and discrimination.
Entry categories are high school, university and general.
Each category winner will receive $10,000 and be invited to compete in stage two – the ADIR Solution – which requires detailed, full proposals for a $US 1 million grand prize competition that’s planned to be launched next.
Lotan told The AJN that, in the face of rising antisemitism and hatred, the ADIR Challenge “emerges as a unique platform for Australians of all ages and backgrounds to come together, harnessing the power of technology and innovation [to] take decisive action”.
AICC CEO Michelle Blum recently convened a virtual meeting for Lotan and Hershkovitz with potential ADIR Challenge participants and supporters in Australia, including entrepreneurs, philanthropists and leaders from Jewish schools, JCA, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and AUJS.
“Feedback from that meeting has definitely been a keenness to be involved, and to communicate opportunities to participate to different groups across the Jewish community,” Blum said.
Blum described the ADIR Challenge as a “much-needed, and out-of-the-box way, to find new solutions to tackling antisemitism by leveraging technology”.
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