Young Champions of Earth, step right up
APPLICATIONS ARE now open for the United Nation’s prestigious prize for environmental action by young people, Young Champions of Earth.
The goal this year, according to information from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is to identify and to celebrate seven young people from across the world with “pathbreaking ideas and solutions that showcase nature’s potential in addressing the triple planetary crisis”.
The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution threaten the stability of the planet, prompting ongoing advocacy for collaboration and scaled-up efforts to stymie the negative impacts.
Climate change, for example, is considered the most pressing of the three as global temperatures continue to rise, triggering a range of risks and threats. These include extreme weather events, including hurricane events, the likes of which have devastated sections of the Caribbean over recent years.
At the same time, with associated impacts such as rising sea levels and coastal erosion, there also exists the threat to industries such as tourism and fisheries and with implications for undermined food security and access to freshwater resources as well as impaired public health.
“Young visionaries are needed who see beyond these crises and have the courage to invent the future by carving their place in a new and greener society,” the UNEP has noted.
Winners of the Young Champions of the Earth for 2024 will receive seed funding to the tune of US$20,000 together with access to mentorship capacity building workshops and a community of experts, in order to bring their ideas for the environment to life.
UNEP is now looking for “young artists, scientists, economists, communicators and entrepreneurs from all walks of life who have big, bold ideas – for the environment, for humanity and for a greener future”.
The selection process begins with the open call for applications, currently being run online from the Young Champions website. Applicants are to submit responses to a series of questions and upload a referee’s letter of endorsement before the deadline of April 5. Regional finalists will then be shortlisted and asked to submit short videos pitching their projects.
In the third and final stage, a jury will review the ideas and select the seven young champions – one each from Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, West Asia; and two from Asia and the Pacific.
Winners will attend an award ceremony where their names will be announced. To qualify, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old on December 31, 2024.