Policy Hackathon on Safe Streets Protocol by School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore

The Gender Studies Committee at the School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, invites undergraduate and postgraduate law students to a Policy Hackathon on the Safe Streets Protocol. The hackathon challenges participants to develop a comprehensive safe streets protocol that addresses accessibility and safety in public spaces through an intersectional approach. Working in the roles of real-world stakeholders, participants will collaboratively debate, negotiate and draft policy that responds to the everyday realities of moving through public space safely. The competition carries a total prize pool of Rs 18,000.

The Gender Studies Committee, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, creates a space for students to critically engage with gender identity, feminism, queer theory, and issues at the intersection of the private and public spheres. Over the years, the Committee has actively contributed to research, outreach, advocacy, policy framing, legislative review, and collaborations with national and state-level departments, ministries and commissions.

Participants are required to draft protocols that comprehensively address safety and accessibility in public spaces. The protocol must engage with the following considerations:

• Urban planning and infrastructure
• Public transport safety
• Street lighting
• Surveillance and privacy safeguards
• Emergency response mechanisms
• Community engagement
• Reporting and grievance redressal
• Accountability of public authorities
• Digital safety
• Public awareness initiatives

• Open only to undergraduate and postgraduate law students.
• Participants must be able to attend in person at the Bangalore Central Campus.
• Stage I: Each participant is individually assigned a stakeholder role such as municipalities, urban planners, police, state authorities or women's commissions.
• Stage II: Teams of three are formed based on the stakeholder allotments.
• Time allocation during the drafting round: 1 hour of discussion followed by 2 hours of drafting and compilation.

• Font: Garamond, 12pt.
• Line spacing: 1.15.
• Footnotes: 10pt, single (1.0) spacing.
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides.
• Minimum word limit: 1,500 words.
• Citation style: Harvard Bluebook (21st Edition).
• File formats: submissions must be made in both .doc/.docx and .pdf formats.
• AI-generated content and plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

• External participants: Rs 750.
• CHRIST students: Rs 450.
• The registration fee is non-refundable.

• 1st Best Team Draft: Rs 9,000.
• 2nd Best Team Draft: Rs 6,000.
• Best Presenter: Rs 3,000.
• Top 10 teams receive Certificates of Merit.
• All participants receive Certificates of Participation.
• All prizes are subject to GST deductions.

Interested participants must register through the official Google Form and complete payment of the registration fee via the CHRIST University e-services online payment portal. Registration opens on 18 July 2026 and closes on 30 July 2026. For any queries, participants may write to the Gender Studies Committee at genderstudiescommittee@law.christuniversity.in.