Young Climate Prize: Celebrating the Next Generation of Change
By Nicole Loher
As the two generations that will be most impacted by the effects of climate change, Gen Z and Generation Alpha are bringing fresh passion and creativity to the climate fight.
To support and empower these emerging voices, The World Around, a nonprofit architecture forum, has created the Young Climate Prize, sponsored by Meta Open Arts. For its inaugural program, a cohort of 25 finalists, ages 13 to 25, were chosen to be paired with a The World Around’s Design Champion for one-on-one mentorship to help further their projects.
From this group, three winners (and one honorable mention) will be feted at The World Around Earth Day Summit 2023, to be held on Earth Day (April 22) at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The winners are:
Young Climate Voice
Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores, Mexico
Young Climate Designer
David Foday Kamara, Sierra Leone
Young Climate Visionary
Honorable Mention
Participant projects were chosen to represent today’s climate landscape across five broad themes:
- Words Matter: Projects amplifying the voices of those whose stories are key to the climate conversation, yet are often ignored.
- Creating Connections: Young people seeing into the future of community building.
- Innovators & Investors: Engineers, architects, designers exploring new ways to approach the changing landscape.
- All About Waste: Researchers and innovators sharing their solutions to help solve one of the growing climate challenges of today.
- Radical Reuse: Projects examining how the management of materials from the beginning of their lifespan to their eventual decay are vital to combat climate change.
“Meta Open Arts is pleased to partner with The World Around on the inaugural Young Climate Prize. This program celebrates the power of community-building through creativity and brings critical attention to emerging climate voices of today and their visions for the future.”
TINA VAZ, HEAD OF OPEN ARTS, META
Meet The Finalists
Words Matter
- Alfonse Chiu, 24, Singapore
Researcher examining neocolonial flows of tropical fruits - Aziba Ekio, 24, Nigeria
Poet working on a collection of writings called “The Color Green” - Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores, 24, Mexico
Photographer and writer creating an ongoing lexicon about climate change - Mangaliso Ngcobo and Sam Harding, 22, South Africa
Writers and editors from South Africa who founded their own magazine - Nastia Volynova, 24, Russia
Researcher examining changes in forms of labor due to climate change - Aida Namukose, 23, Uganda
Photographer documenting women in the food industry affected by climate change
Creating Connections
- Marilita Quintana Molina, 24, Chilé
Artist and climate advocate collecting plastic waste in her region and seeking to use it to improve her community - Shariffa Amolo Anguria, 25, Kenya
Activist and community leader educating on the negative impacts of traditional gold mining - Raihan Rabbannee Hendrawan, 17, Indonesia
Facilitator committed to engaging young people in the fight against climate change - Sophia Tabibian and Lulu Goulet-Hofsass, 14, USA
Community leaders who founded an online climate hub for global activists - Sahithi Radha, 15, India
Student and activist pioneering an e-waste collection and recycling initiative - Hannah Segerkranz, 25, Estonia
Product designer championing the use of hemp as an eco-friendly building material through an open source design
Innovators & Inventions
- Jin Gao, 25, China
Researcher and maker focusing on the survival of bees in volatile climate conditions - David Andrés Vega Monsalve, 23, Colombia
Digital artist using VR to raise awareness about the effects of recent flooding in Pakistán. - Ichor Joshua Keghnen, 22, Nigeria
Mechanical engineer who created a device to monitor pollution in boreholes and water wells. - Chris Vrettos, 26, Greece
Clean energy advocate championing the nation’s first all-solar community. - Esther Olalude, 20, Nigeria
An inventor creating affordable sanitary towels from recycled waste.
All About Water
- Namra Khalid, 25, Pakistan
Researcher producing the region´s first socio-climatic map to facilitate addressing floods in Karachi. - Anushuka Shahdadpuri, 26, India
A designer working on a network of ways to accelerate clean water. - Joseph Nguthiru, 24, Kenya
A chemist who invented a biodegradable plastic made from water hyacinth.
Radical Reuse
- Gabriela Angelina Bernal Ibáñez, 19, Mexico
An architect and engineer whose research into recycled panels is on trial in Mexico - Foday David Kamara, 23, Rwanda
An entrepreneur whose Ecovironment project is recycling post-consumer plastic waste into everyday construction materials like eco-bricks and paving tiles - Moemen Sobh, 22, Egypt
An architect pioneering new materials, including Visenleer, a fish-skin leather that makes use of bi-product and allows fishermen to make more money per fish sold - Mohammed Dimma Mawejje, 22, Uganda
A social entrepreneur using textile waste like fabric offcuts and second-hand clothes to create bags, earrings, dresses, and other fashion merchandise - Stanley Anigbogu, 23, Nigeria
A designer providing access to clean light and energy alternatives for students and refugees in his region
“The World Around is committed to focusing on what is happening now and how it can change the future. This group of inspiring young activists, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers and poets have shown us where the world’s attention should focus. Their generation has a vested interest in finding solutions to our biggest challenges.” — Beatrice Galilee, director, The World Around
To learn more about The World Around, follow them on Instagram. Follow Meta Open Arts at fb.com/metaopenarts and @MetaOpenArts on Instagram.
