The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for young people, empowering 13-19 year olds with mentorship and $100K funding. This year, seven Regional Winners (Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania) will be chosen by a jury, with one Global Winner via public vote. Each Regional Winning team will receive $12.5K to develop and implement their idea.
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Today, The Earth Prize officially opens registrations for its global environmental sustainability competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for young people aged 13-19 years. Designed to empower the next generation and reduce widespread youth climate anxiety, The Earth Prize supports applicants with all the tools they need to develop their eco solutions for real life impact, including 1:1 mentoring, learning resources and funding to scale up.
The Earth Prize, an initiative of The Earth Foundation (a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva) was born after founder Peter McGarry witnessed thousands of students rallying during a school strike for the climate in 2019. Climate anxiety is a widespread reality for young people today, with a recent study showing that 59% are very or extremely worried about the environment.
“Environmental anxiety is very real because of how prominent it is in the news, how everyone’s always talking about it. It’s very easy to become kind of scared of the future, of just how bad things could become… but I do think The Earth Prize is making a difference in the sense that it gives some hope. It gives the possibility of making an impact, because otherwise someone who’s 16 or 17, has no chance of really making much of a change if they aren’t given an opportunity”, explained Rajas Nandas, 2024 Finalist alongside his team MycoFlo, who invented a fungi-based water filter.
Since 2021, The Earth Prize has offered over 10,000 young people across 154 countries and territories the opportunity to make a difference. Teams have invented pioneering tech-based solutions (such as team FloodGate’s flooding prediction and warning system) to unique physical inventions (like team CocoMellow’s banana-based eco diapers). These young changemakers’ ideas have garnered global media attention in outlets such as EuroNews, Positive.News and UN Today, and continue to be scaled up even after the competition has ended. For instance, team Delavo (Winners of The Earth Prize 2023), who invented a cutting-edge filter that recycles up to 90% of toxic laundry waste water, have since applied for a patent and built a partnership with a national manufacturer to make their solution a reality.
This year’s edition brings exciting changes, shifting even more power to the people. For the first time, Seven Regional Winners will be chosen by an expert adjudicating panel from around the globe to level the playing field, across Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East, Northern America and Oceania. What’s more, applicants will get access to 1:1 mentoring from the moment of registration, and each of the final seven Regional Winning teams will be empowered with $12.5K to scale up their eco inventions into real-life impact. Finally, one Global Winner will be chosen from the seven Regional Winners through a public vote, designed to engage as many people as possible in amplifying solutions for our planet.
More on the topic: The Earth Prize 2024: Meet the Winners
17-year-old Sumedh Kotrannava (2024 Winning team FloodGate), explained how The Earth Prize empowered them to develop their idea and make a difference: “One way to describe The Earth Prize is unparalleled. The opportunities that you’re going to get from competing in this competition are just going to drive your passion and your project to the next level. I think our generation is starting to really spark change and innovate new solutions, and I’m really excited to see in the next twenty years or so what we are going to do.”
Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, added: “After three years of running The Earth Prize, we’ve introduced changes I believe will truly excite both new and returning participants. Having seven regional winners will transform the competition, and I can’t wait to see the incredible ideas that emerge from each region! Offering 1:1 mentoring from the moment of registration will be an enormous value addition for every student who enters. And finally, involving the public in the vote for the overall winner is beyond exciting—we want The Earth Prize to be something everyone engages with and is inspired by!”
If you know a young person aged 13-19 years who is passionate about the environment, encourage them to register for The Earth Prize, before 30 November 12:00pm CET, at www.theearthprize.org.
