News.Aug 11, 2021

Don’t miss the chance to vote in the People’s Choice Award!

What do tomorrow’s greatest water innovations look like? Get a sneak peek by following the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. In this international competition, students aged 15-20 get their projects assessed by a jury – and by you. Until 12 August, end of day, you can vote in the People’s Choice Award.

Stockholm Junior Water Prize has been organized for 25 years and inspired thousands of young people to develop solutions to different water-related problems. Many of the innovations have changed the lives of both the students themselves and of their communities. Since last year, the prize also includes a People’s Choice Award so that the public can vote for their own favourites.

To vote, you start by checking out the amazing video presentations from this year’s Stockholm Junior Water Prize finalists. Thereafter you vote for the project that impressed you the most – no later than 12 August, end of day. All the entries and everything you need to know can be found here.

Getting this kind of recognition from the general public is a great boost to participants. “The People’s Choice Award was the first time one of our projects got support beyond our school, from the whole country. And approval from people not only from a scientific background. It gave us confidence to continue with science and boosted our credentials when applying for university,” said Adittya Kumar Chowdhury and Khaled Iftekhar from Bangladesh who in 2020 became the first to win the People’s Choice Award.

The duo developed an effective but inexpensive method to purify water to help the majority of Bangladeshis who lack access to clean water. This is a great example of how the Stockholm Junior Water Prize inspires the next generation of innovators to come up with truly transformative solutions, comments Austin Alexander who is Vice President Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem, a water technology leader and the Prize’ global founding sponsor.

“The Stockholm Junior Water Prize plays an important role in encouraging young people around the world to focus on solving major water challenges. For us at Xylem, igniting the next generation of water innovators is very close to our hearts and our mission to solve water, and we are proud to have been the global founding sponsor and supporter of the competition for more than two decades,” Austin Alexander says.

Xylem is dedicated to addressing challenges such as water scarcity, climate resilience and water affordability. By partnering with the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, the company contributes to inspiring more young people to explore these topics and develop solutions. Many of the Prize finalists end up pursuing careers in water innovation, sometimes as a direct result of having participated in the competition.

“The world really needs these bright and committed young innovators and it is a great privilege to champion their work. Through the People’s Choice Award, anyone can follow the work of the finalists and show their support. You can do your part to solve water by supporting these young innovators and leaders,” Austin Alexander says.

The winners of the People’s Choice Award are announced on 24 August at the award ceremony where H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden will also present the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. You can follow it live by registering here for World Water Week – it is free of charge and gives you access to the world’s leading water conference.