Young Climate Prize

Details

The World Around, a global nonprofit platform making architecture accessible to all, announces it’s seeking a new cohort for its Young Climate Prize (YCP) program. YCP shines a spotlight on the communities most impacted by the climate crisis by selecting 25 young activists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and thinkers to help scale their projects with resources that are not otherwise available to them. Each finalist will be paired with one mentor from a prestigious interdisciplinary, international group of Design Champions.

At the end of the mentorship, an international jury will convene and select three winners to travel to New York City and present their work at The World Around Annual Summit 2025.

Previous YCP cohort winners have been afforded incredible opportunities following the program. David Foday Kamara, one of the three winners in 2023, was selected for his project Ecovironment which reduces pollution by repurposing recycled plastics into bricks. He has since been selected as a fellow for the 776 Foundation, a program that grants young adults $100,000 to work on projects aimed at fighting climate change.

Beatrice Galilee, The World Around Founder and Executive Director, stated, “The World Around’s Young Climate Prize brings a community of trailblazers from every corner of the world together with the greatest creative minds to scale-up solutions and increase their impact on today’s critical climate crisis. Having witnessed the diversity of candidates and the quality of their projects at our inaugural Young Climate Prize, I very much look forward to seeing the breadth of ideas and creative solutions that the second cycle will bring.”

Other notable past YCP winners include Joseph Nguthiru whose project, HyaPak Ecotech Limited, uses hazardous weeds from the hyacinth plant to create biodegradable alternatives for single-use plastic products. Nguthiru has been recognized as part of the Obama Foundation Leaders Africa program, which seeks to build a growing network of innovative and values-based changemakers who will drive positive change in their communities.

At its core, YCP focuses on what is happening now and how it can change the future. Now seeking applicants for its second cycle, upcoming mentor workshops will accelerate the impact of the work and ideas of their mentees through comprehensive support including marketing, fundraising, graphic design, communication, and film-making.

Eligibility criteria
— Applicants must be aged 13-25 at the time of application
— Groups of a maximum of three may enter
— Applicants can be located anywhere in the world
— Applicants must be able to demonstrate an existing, functioning project of their own creation that successfully addresses or mitigates climate change in their community
— Eligible projects could include but are not limited to: leadership and activism, innovation and invention, farming, conservation, energy access and equity, clean water initiatives, sustainable construction, engineering, journalism, film, art and digital design

Submission requirements
— Applicants must share a short video introducing their project and accompanying written or visual materials that show evidence of their work and its impact
— Submissions are accepted in English or Spanish
— The deadline for applications is July 31, 2024, at 11:59 pm EST

2025 Design Champions
— Sebastián Acampante (Trimarchi, Argentina)
— Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper (Stephen Burks Man Made, USA/Cambodia)
— Sean Connelly (After Oceanic, Hawai'i)
— CG Foisy (4Hawk Productions, USA)
— Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin (Formafantasma, Italy)
— Ana María Gutiérrez (Fundación Organizmo, Colombia)
— Joseph Zeal-Henry (Sound Advice, UK)
— Rosario Hevia (Ecocitex, Chile)
— Hella Jongerius (Netherlands)
— Mariam Issoufou Kamara (Mariam Issoufou Architects, Niger)
— Asif Khan (UK)
— Brendan McGetrick (Museum of the Future, US/UAE)
— Justin McGuirk (Future Observatory, UK)
— Li Hu and Huang Wenjing, (Open Architecture, China)
— Suchi Reddy (Reddymade, USA/India)
— Claudia Schmuckli (San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts, USA/Germany)
— Gurmeet Sian (Office Sian, UK)
— Paulo Tavares (Brazil)
— Ellie Stathaki (Wallpaper*, UK/Greece)
— Katie Swenson (MASS Design Group, USA)
— Katie Treggiden (Making Design Circular, UK)
— Klauss Thymann (Denmark)
— Ilze Wolff (Wolff Architects, South Africa)
— Dong-Ping Wong (Food Architects, USA)