Ashdod students expose dangerous myth and win silver at national hackathon

I control everything and can stop at any time. This belief, which often prevents teenagers from recognizing the dangers of addiction in time, became the main theme of the project of students of the Ashdod school Makif Vav. Their work took second place in the national hackathon “Light the Light of Omer”, which brought together 17 teams from all over Israel.

The final of the competition took place on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, with the support of the state media corporation Kan Digital and the technology company Check Point. In one day, participants had to develop original digital campaigns that could draw young people’s attention to the problem of substance use and addiction formation.

The organizers offered students a difficult task: to tell their peers about the serious danger without edification, intimidation and the usual preventive slogans. Instead, participants were required to use social media language, short videos, and modern visual techniques understood by teen audiences.

For the victory fought 17 best teams representing school directions of film, communications and entrepreneurship from different cities of the country. Among the finalists were students of the communication department of the Ashdod school “Makif Vav”.

The hackathon has evolved into an intense creative marathon. During the day, students discussed ideas, developed scenarios, looked for non-standard ways of presenting material and improved their projects with the participation of specialists from the media industry and the high-tech sector.

The teams were mentored by creative producers Kan Digital and technology consultants Check Point. They helped participants turn complex psychological and social topics into comprehensible digital content, designed to be shared on popular youth social networks.

Special attention was paid not only to the expressiveness of the videos, but also to the reliability of their content. The authors had to find a balance between emotional impact, preventive meaning and a format that could really interest teenagers.

The Macif Vav team focused on one of the most common illusions associated with addiction – a person’s confidence that they are in complete control of the situation and are able to give up dangerous behavior at any time.

The students built their campaign around the contradiction between a sense of personal control and the real mechanisms of addiction. Their idea was to show how imperceptibly a person can lose the ability to stop on their own, while continuing to convince themselves that nothing serious is happening.

At the same time, the authors of the project abandoned direct intimidation. Instead, they bet on recognizable teenage situations, expressive visual images and an emotional message that makes them think about their own decisions.

An important part of the campaign was the idea of noticing warning signs in a timely manner, not being afraid to seek help and supporting friends facing similar difficulties.

The project reminded that addiction cannot be viewed solely as a lack of willpower. That is why early recognition of the problem, support of others and willingness to contact specialists can be crucial.

The jury evaluated the submitted works on several criteria: the originality of the idea, the depth of the social message, the emotional impact and the ability to attract the attention of users of social networks.

The campaign of Ashdod schoolchildren was highly appreciated due to high-quality visual performance, a delicate approach to a sensitive topic and a successful combination of cinematic techniques with the ideas of addiction prevention and psychological stability.

According to the results of a busy competitive day, the Makif Vav team took second place, ahead of most of the participants in the national final.

The hackathon itself became part of the activities of the organization “Light the Light of Omer”, created by Illy and Dr. Ron Lev in memory of their son Omer.

The founders of the organization strive to change public attitudes towards addiction, reduce the use of dangerous substances among young people and overcome the stigma of people faced with this problem.

One of the main directions of their work was to involve adolescents in an open conversation about addiction. The organizers are convinced that young people are able not only to perceive preventive information, but also to create convincing messages for their peers.

This approach formed the basis of the hackathon, which united social initiative, digital technologies and the creative capabilities of schoolchildren.

The success of the team from Ashdod was a significant achievement for the students and teachers of the Department of Communications of Makif Wav School - Ilan Melker, Lauren Nissim and Einat Grayzer.

The silver award also highlighted the results of the Ashdod Municipal Education System, which focuses on the development of students’ creative abilities and their participation in solving socially significant problems.

The main result of the competition was not only the victory of individual teams, but also the emergence of preventive campaigns created by the teenagers themselves. The work of Makif Vav students has shown that a serious conversation about addictions can be understandable, modern and convincing if it is led by those who know the language and interests of their audience.