Over the course of three days, the Public Media Alliance (PMA) brought together 12 media workers from Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago for a hackathon – the first activity in our “Data Journalism in Action: Empowering Caribbean Disaster Preparedness” project. The hackathon, focused on building data journalism skills and developing community-focused data projects, is part of a wider multi-phase initiative designed to strengthen the role of public interest journalism in reducing disaster risk and increasing climate resilience. Alongside PMA, the project is implemented in partnership with HEI-DA and with the support of UNESCO Caribbean and the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communication. It was kindly hosted at STARCOM Network Incorporated’s headquarters.

“The Caribbean is facing increasing threats from climate-related disasters and with this project we want to emphasise that the need for accessible, accurate, and data-informed journalism is more urgent than ever,” explained Desilon Daniels, PMA’s Project & Advocacy Coordinator. “Caribbean media are playing a crucial role in informing and supporting communities before, during, and after crises. However, there are limitations in data literacy, tools, and capacity that prevent them from fully leveraging data to strengthen their coverage. There are also gaps in collaboration — both nationally and regionally — which is especially concerning, as collaboration is crucial to effective disaster preparedness and risk reduction.”

During the hackathon, the participants were guided by the facilitating team of Marianne Bouchart, Claudia Báez, and Sarah Toporoff with support from Desilon. Collaboration was emphasised as a central component throughout the three-day event.

Read more: Meet the team leading our Data Journalism for Disaster Preparedness project

“If you look at some of the best data journalism projects in the world, you’ll notice they’re built by teams. Journalists, designers, coders, producers, editors, fact-checkers, visual experts — all working together, across borders and disciplines,” Ms. Bouchart said.

Day 1: Kickstart, Collaborate, Ideate

The first day of the hackathon focused on setting the stage, both in terms of team collaboration and project development. Two sessions of design-thinking bootcamps offered the fellows the opportunity to frame their ideas through a user-focused lens, with teams exploring key questions about the problems they were addressing, the communities they were serving, and what the success of their projects would look like.

Throughout the day, fellows also engaged in structured brainstorming exercises to sharpen their project ideas, identify potential implementation challenges, and map out early strategies for collaboration. Importantly, these activities encouraged peer feedback and an early sense of creative ownership.

One standout element was the “10 Steps of a data journalism project” session, which helped fellows visualise the full arc of their project, from idea development to data sourcing, cleaning, storytelling, and audience impact.

Meanwhile, the fellows were introduced to data journalism projects from around the world to spark inspiration around innovative formats and unexplored story angles. Examples ranged from hyperlocal investigations into flood zones to immersive, sensor-based reporting and heat maps.

Other highlights of Day 1 included the hands-on session “How to tell stories with open data” – where teams explored how to find, evaluate, and extract meaning from open datasets – and a demonstration of how AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity can support data discovery, analysis, and early structuring of ideas, especially in smaller newsrooms with limited resources.

The day concluded with a working session where teams sketched out the beginnings of their data projects and shared one-minute mini-pitches.

Day 2: Build, Test, Refine

Day 2 saw the country teams shift from exploration to construction. The day began with a focused project sprint, as each team refined their core idea into a working plan. With support from the facilitating team, the fellows mapped out their narrative angles, drafted editorial goals, and identified initial datasets.

A key highlight of the day was a lightning talk by Kiran Maharaj, President of the Media Institute of the Caribbean and Co-Founder of the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network, who spoke on the topic of data as a right. In her presentation, she outlined practical legal considerations and freedom of information (FOI) strategies for journalists in the region, highlighting success stories and best practices. Her insights underscored the systemic barriers to accessing data and how Caribbean journalists can push back, advocate, and navigate them.

Later in the day, the teams presented their midpoint pitches before engaging in collaborative clinics — a structured deep-work session with rotating mentor feedback. The day ultimately closed with fellows receiving further feedback ahead of their final day.

Day 3: Polish & Pitch

The final day focused on bringing the projects to life and preparing teams to communicate their work with clarity and impact. The morning opened with a pitch coaching masterclass, offering practical tips on storytelling structure, visualisation, and audience engagement. Fellows practiced explaining their projects in accessible, compelling terms, a key skill in data journalism.

Teams then put final touches on their datasets, visuals, and narrative elements before mapping out project plans for the months ahead. A dedicated session on training needs and next steps helped fellows reflect on their learning gaps and vote on the training topics for the virtual training sessions in June.

In the afternoon, each team developed a project gallery walk, which served as a mini exhibition of their early visuals, sketches, and data ideas. This led to the final pitch showcase, where teams presented their work to a small jury of experts and their peers. In attendance were also students of the Mass Communications programme within the Barbados Community College and staff of STARCOM Network Incorporated.

What’s next?

Over the next few months, the fellows will work in three teams to develop their projects: Team Barbados, Team Grenada, and a cross-border team made up of two journalists from Trinidad & Tobago and one from Barbados.

They will receive further virtual training in June to tackle topics they’ve identified as priorities in realising their projects. Meanwhile, over a four-month period, the country teams will receive tailored mentorship to refine and implement their DRR projects before the project culminates with a ‘Projects Showcase’ – a virtual event to celebrate and share the outcomes of the project – in October. There, teams will present their work, exchange insights, and discuss strategies for sustainability, cross-border collaboration, and future initiatives.