Start here. Register for the Challenge and share information about yourself or your team. We’ll help guide you to the Innovation Pathway that best fits your interests and ideas.
Get Started
Culture Is Currency invites learners and innovators of all backgrounds to recognize culture, creativity, lived experience, talents, family and community knowledge as innovation assets-and use them to build ideas, develop skills, and create opportunities for them to draw upon their lived experiences, values, and communities to explore how culture, creativity, and community assets create social and economic value—redefining wealth beyond traditional metrics to include the invisible strengths of creativity, care, language, land, and legacy.
Challenge Status: Challenge Open | Deadline: January 29, 2027
Challenge Overview
Follow the Culture Is Currency challenge journey from your registration through your final showcase.
Review the challenge brief, timeline, and learning resources. Learn more about workshops and sessions to help you design your Challenge submission.
Explore and choose your Innovation Pathway. Then build your idea, project, story, prototype, or other submission using the Challenge Playbook. Come back again if you want to submit to another Innovation Pathway.
Upload your final materials, Challenge Reflection, and required supporting materials before the deadline. The Challenge deadline is January 29, 2027.
Reviewers evaluate submissions based on the criteria outlined for each Innovation Pathway. Look for the “What to Submit” section to review the four elements every submission should include.
Selected projects and participants are recognized through the Culture Is Currency showcase and shared on the Virtual Innovation Platform. Come back to learn more as we near the Challenge deadline.
Culture Is Currency Resources Library
Shared Digital Resources for Culture Is Currency
Toolkits, courses, and resources to support your Culture Is Currency challenge journey.
Instructors
- Instructor
- Toolkit
Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub
Culture is Currency Instructor Toolkit
A practical guide for supporting students through the Culture Is Currency challenge.
- Instructor
- Students
- Resource
Apple
Challenge Based Learning Framework
Explore a framework for turning real-world challenges into meaningful learning experiences.
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- Instructor
- Students
- Software
Autodesk
Autodesk Education
Access Autodesk tools and learning resources available to students and educators.
Learn more- Instructor
- Student
- Course
Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub & Suma Wealth
Side Hustle Bootcamp
Build practical skills for developing an idea into a viable side hustle.
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- Instructor
- Resource
Apple
Apple Education Community
Explore learning resources, ideas, and inspiration from the Apple Education Community.
Learn moreStudents
- Students
- Toolkit
Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub
Culture is Currency Student Playbook
A step-by-step guide for developing and submitting your Culture Is Currency project.
- Instructor
- Students
- Resource
Apple
Challenge Based Learning Framework
Use challenge-based learning to explore ideas, take action, and develop your project.
Learn more- Instructor
- Students
- Software
Autodesk
Autodesk Education
Access Autodesk tools and learning resources for designing, building, and creating.
Learn more- Instructor
- Student
- Course
Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub & Suma Wealth
Side Hustle Bootcamp
Learn how to shape your skills, creativity, and ideas into a side hustle.
Learn more
- Student
- Resource
Apogee Electronics
Apogee Education Program
Explore educational resources and opportunities for music and audio creation.
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- Student
- Resource
SUMA Wealth
SUMA Wealth Financial Literacy Tools
Explore practical tools for building financial knowledge and money skills.
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Side Hustle Bootcamp
Have an idea, talent, skill, or story you want to turn into something real? Side Hustle Bootcamp helps you explore micro-preneurship through culture, creativity, and community. Use the Challenge resources to shape your idea, identify who it serves, and build a side hustle concept that creates value for yourself and others.
In Partnership with:
Culture Is Currency's 5 Innovation Pathways
Innovation Pathways
Create:Your Side Hustle
Challenge: Create a side hustle that adds value. Design a side hustle that transforms your culture, creativity, talents, or lived experiences into something that creates value for others. Your side hustle should respond to a real opportunity or need, strengthen your community, and demonstrate how innovation can create economic, cultural, or social impact.
Design a side hustle that transforms your culture, creativity, talents, or lived experiences into something that creates value for others. Your side hustle should respond to a real opportunity or need, strengthen your community, and demonstrate how innovation can create economic, cultural, or social impact.
Your greatest side hustle idea may already exist within your creativity, your lived experiences, or your culture. Innovation happens when we recognize the value we already possess and transform it into opportunities that strengthen ourselves and our communities.
A National Challenge
Culture is Currency
Your Currency is Culture
Your experiences, traditions, language, creativity, relationships, and community knowledge all hold value. Currency is more than money—it is anything that creates value. Culture Is Currency challenges you to turn what you know, create, and experience into assets for innovation, opportunity, and community wealth. In partnership with SUMA Wealth, participants can also build financial knowledge and explore how ideas can create economic opportunity through the Side Hustle Bootcamp.
Challenge-Based Learning
Start with a question that matters to you. Investigate it through research, conversations, and exploration. Then use what you learn to create and share an idea, story, or solution.
Free & Online
Recognize your value. Build your idea. Create what comes next. Explore Challenge resources, choose a pathway that fits your interests, and use the tools available to take your idea from exploration to creation.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers about participating in the Culture Is Currency Challenge. Download the full FAQ for additional details.