Partnering for Innovation Generation #YouthforWaterandClimate
Tuesday, August 27th | 16:00-17:30 | Room: Young Professional Booth – D01
Organized in collaboration with the Global Water Partnership, Young Water Solutions and CEWAS.
The Youth for Water and Climate Platform featured an afternoon of activities dedicated to supporting youth-led projects and social businesses. Youth project leaders from around the world, selected and vetted by YWC partners (including ISW, GWP, CEWAS and Young Water Solutions), were invited to showcase their projects via posters and in person.
The “Match-Making for Youth-led Problem Solving” activity was an opportunity for companies and organizations with a water and climate related problem to challenge young leaders to propose solutions. The dynamic brainstorming and discussions was an in-person version of the www.youthwaterclimate.org online exchange of creativity, innovation, and expertise.
Check out the brand new Call for Proposals page on the Youth for Water and Climate Platform – we’re currently highlighting GWP-Caribbean’s Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank competition! Open for ages 18-34 until until October 15th!
Challenge questions were posed by:
- Olga Darazs, of the Swiss Water Partnership
- Robert Stefanski, of the World Meteorological Organization
- Maureen Ntege-Wasswa, of the African Development Bank
- Minh Nguyen, of the Asian Development Bank
Quality assurance labs were organized – a rare opportunity for young entrepreneurs to gather constructive advice and comments from seasoned reviewers in order to improve and scale up their projects.
Among the experts mobilized, we were able to enjoy the presence of:
- Nidhi Nagabhatla, Capacity Development Lead, United Nations University – Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)
- Meleesa Naughton, Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, Rural Water Supply Network
- Alba Serna, Senior Water and Sanitation Engineer, African Development Bank
- Alice Aureli, Chief of Section, UNESCO-IHP
- Alan Nicol, IWMI-Ethiopia, Strategic Program Leader, IWMI Ethiopia
- Hyacinth Banseka, Manager of WACDEP, GWP Central Africa
The day ended with the Young Water Fellow’s Pitch followed by remarks by Antonella Vagliente, Young Water Solutions’s Director. Johan Gély, from the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC) and Michael Kropac, CEWAS spoke to the importance of mobilizing resources in support of youth led solutions. The activities were summarized by Sharif Mahmudov, National Represenative for Central Asian Youth 4 Water. The honour of final words went to, Monika Weber–Fahr of the Global Water Partnership, and Manuel Fulchiron, ISW-SIE Governing Board. Facilitation was provided by Natalija Vojno of ISW-SIE and Rianna Gonzales of GWP.
Brainstorming during interactive activities captured topics such as methane reduction from wastewater treatment, water quality, drought communication, and local youth action.