Youth Call for the 2022 UNESCO Water Resilience Challenge!

Countries in Southeast Asia share many similarities, such as increasing urgency and complexity of water stress and various climate change-related problems. Following the success of UNESCO Water Resilience Challenge 2021, UNESCO organises “UNESCO Water Resilience Challenge 2022: Groundwater”.

The theme follows the 2022 World Water Day “Groundwater: making the invisible visible”. This year the challenge will be conducted in the Merapi-Merbabu-Menoreh Biosphere Reserve in Indonesia, and the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve in Vietnam. The countries were selected because of the similarities in terms of groundwater problems, such as unsustainable urban groundwater extraction, which affects 90% of households in Indonesia and 46% of households in Vietnam (UNESCO, 2022).

The Challenge is open to youth under 30, with registration from 8 to 19 August 2022. Twenty-five selected youths from each country will be engaged in a series of workshop and mentoring sessions, and guided from experienced professionals to contribute ideas, test solutions to promote conservation and sustainability and eventually become the voices of future water leaders. The Challenge will be hybrid, with online mentoring, in-person workshops and site visits, to learn from stakeholders in the two Biosphere Reserves.

Participants will present their proposed solutions to a panel of judges in September 2022. The winning team from each country will be awarded a grand prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to present their work in upcoming international UNESCO water events.

Registration link: bit.ly/UWRC22-Groundwater