Data 360 Global Challenge
Media Party and the World Bank celebrate the conclusion of the Data 360 Global Challenge, recognizing the innovators who built the next generation of verification tools to restore trust in information.
Meet the Winners
Meet the innovative projects selected from a competitive global field that are transforming data journalism using World Bank Data360.
Special Mention:
Unequal Scenes / Unequal World
Aerial Visual Storytelling at Global Scale
Live prototype: unequal-world-data360.pages.dev
Unequal Scenes — known internationally for its award-winning aerial photography documenting inequality — submitted one of the highest-scoring projects, earning a Special Mention for its visual creativity and exemplary use of World Bank data. The project pairs striking real-world imagery with interactive, embeddable World Bank Data360 indicators, allowing readers and newsrooms to explore inequality through both emotional and evidence-based lenses.
"The jury commended the project for its impressive visual creativity and effective integration of interactive data indicators. Feedback emphasized the thoughtful and assistive use of AI, which allows users to explore inequality through both emotional and evidence-based lenses. Jurors noted the project's high potential for storytelling and suggested that its solid scientific framework and usability make it a standout, deployable solution."
Second Special Mention:
Abrimos.info (Latam)
AI-Powered Data Journalism Templates
Live prototype: data360-demo.abrimos.info
Abrimos.info earned a special mention with a tool that automatically generates data journalism articles and analysis from World Bank Data360 indicators — combining trend detection, automatic change identification, and procurement data analysis to help newsrooms surface newsworthy patterns at scale.
"Feedback for this project focused on the strength of its technical and security design, particularly the automated change detection feature, which jurors noted is highly useful for surfacing newsworthy trends. To increase the tool's utility, jury members recommended enabling the generation of templates from archived articles and integrating additional data sets to allow for the validation and complementation of stories."
Data 360 Global Challenge Jury
Poynter Institute
The World Bank
We needed new tools to improve information integrity.
The world faces an unprecedented crisis of trust. The proliferation of sophisticated digital manipulation, disinformation, and the collapse of shared facts threaten democracy, development, and public well-being.
This challenge brought together two powerful forces: Media Party's global network of media innovators and the World Bank's verified development data through its Data360 API, a comprehensive source of verified development data that served as a foundation for authenticating information and restoring public trust.
What were we looking for?
We invited participants from around the world to explore diverse approaches to establishing trusted sources of truth in media. Solutions utilized the World Bank's Data360 API as a foundation of verified data.
Teams built on existing projects or started from scratch, demonstrating substantial new development specifically oriented toward information integrity.
Participants addressed these key focus areas:
Data Dialogue (Conversational Access)
AI-powered tools that allow journalists and citizens to "converse" with World Bank indicators. Anyone should be able to ask in natural language — "How has female labor participation changed in the last decade?" — and receive an accurate response based on official data.
Instant Visual Stories (Data Integration)
Raw numbers don't tell stories; visualizations do. We looked for plug-and-play tools that help newsrooms transform World Bank data into interactive charts instantly — as easy to embed in an article as a YouTube video.
Shielding the Pipeline (Secure Infrastructure)
Trust starts at the source. We sought technical solutions that protect the flow of information from the API to the end user, creating a secure and impenetrable channel so data cannot be intercepted or manipulated.
A Digital Passport for Facts (Cross-platform Verification)
When a chart goes viral on social media, it often loses its source and context. We needed systems that act as a "passport" for data, traveling with the information wherever it's shared and allowing verification of the original official source in a single click.
Permanent Source Seals (Decentralized Provenance)
Using technologies like blockchain or cryptography to give data an unalterable "birth certificate". A permanent record of what was published and when — so any reader can confirm that the numbers haven't been altered.
The Wildcard (Open Innovation)
The future of transparency is not limited to these categories. If you have a unique idea that uses official development data to make information clearer and more reliable, this space is yours.
How the Challenge Worked
The process was structured in two phases to identify the most promising teams and provide them with real support during development.
Phase 1 — Expression of Interest (EOI)
Teams submitted a brief conceptual proposal including their approach, relevant experience, and development plan. Selected finalists were invited to Phase 2 with access to World Bank API credentials, technical mentoring, and a collaborative network of innovators.
Phase 2 — Prototype Development
Finalist teams had two months to build and refine their solutions, with continuous support: cohort calls, technical office hours with experts, and direct access to advisors from Media Party and the World Bank.
Timeline
Awarded Prizes and Benefits
A cash prize of USD 5,000 for the winning team, with support to continue developing their solution.
In addition, participants received:
- International visibility before top-tier journalists, investors, and media executives
- Access to Media Party's information integrity innovation network
- Opportunities for collaboration and ongoing exposure
- Direct mentoring from technical experts at the World Bank and Media Party
- Space to present their solution at leading global events
Who participated?
The challenge was open to global teams of journalists, developers, entrepreneurs, and technologists with ideas to make information more verifiable and reliable.
We accepted:
- Open source projects and commercial ventures
- Teams building on existing projects or starting from scratch
- Solutions at any early stage of development
Key conditions were:
- Solutions had to demonstrate substantial new development oriented toward information integrity using World Bank data
- The core verification functionality had to be publicly accessible
- Commercial projects had to offer free access to journalists and newsrooms in developing countries
- All Data360 API integrations had to be documented to allow independent verification