European Young Innovators Festival

This November, Graz once again became a European hotspot for impact-driven innovation: at the European Young Innovators Festival 2025, 15 digital projects from across the continent were honoured as European Young Innovators – including ontrack from Graz.

For us, this recognition is more than a trophy. As one of only 15 award-winning teams selected by the World Summit Awards (WSA) jury, ontrack stands alongside Europe’s most promising digital solutions for the UN Sustainable Development Goals – from inclusive education and health to climate action and reduced inequalities.

Our team member Marie Christin Essert represented the team on stage in Graz and pitched ontrack to the international jury, festival guests, and fellow founders from more than 20 countries. In her pitch, she focused on our simple but powerful idea: Blind and visually impaired people should be able to move through cities independently – without having to rely on visual maps.

ontrack offers audio-first navigation, real-time public transport data and an interface that is fully optimised for screen readers. The app is co-created with blind and visually impaired users to make sure every feature is truly practical in everyday life – from finding the right tram stop to safely navigating complex intersections.

The European Young Innovators Festival took place from 26–28 November 2025 in Graz. Over three days, young founders, experts, students and policy-makers explored how digital innovation can help Europe tackle multiple crises – from climate change and social inequality to democratic challenges.

The program:
Impact pitches by the 15 European Young Innovators, including ontrack, presenting their digital solutions for the UN SDGs. Workshops & mentoring sessions on ethical AI, social entrepreneurship and inclusive tech. Keynotes & panels with international speakers from business, civil society and public institutions. An innovation challenge with Styrian high school students, focused on SDG 10 “Reduced Inequalities”.

For ontrack, the festival was an ideal mix: a stage to present our work, a learning space to sharpen our impact strategy, and a networking hub to connect with partners from all over Europe.

This year’s edition was also a special moment for the local ecosystem: with noknots and ontrack, two Styrian startups were among the 15 European Young Innovators 2025 – a clear sign of how much impact-focused innovation is currently emerging from the region.

Being recognised at a European festival in our home city means a lot to us. It shows that inclusive mobility is not a niche topic, but a central building block for a more equal, accessible and sustainable Europe.

The European Young Innovators Award is part of the WSA network – a UN-based initiative that highlights digital solutions with real social value.

For ontrack, this award helps us: Build trust with blind and visually impaired communities, social insurers and mobility providers across Europe. Open doors to new collaborations with cities, transport operators and accessibility organisations. Strengthen our mission to make independent, safe mobility possible for people who cannot rely on visual navigation. The conversations in Graz – from informal chats over coffee to structured mentoring sessions – gave us valuable feedback on our roadmap: expanding to more cities, integrating additional transport operators and further improving the navigation experience in complex urban environments.

After the festival, our focus is clear: Finalising and rolling out the next MVP stage of ontrack in Austria and beyond. Deepening collaboration with organisations of blind and visually impaired people. Working with public institutions and social insurers to make ontrack accessible to users at scale.

The European Young Innovators Festival in Graz was an important milestone on this journey – and a strong reminder that inclusive mobility is a European task we can only solve together.