The Programme, along with its initiatives, made a profound impact at international conferences and influenced digital platforms, including the GWP IWRM Action Hub, envisioning the empowerment of youth to tackle global water and climate crises. It aimed to showcase innovative approaches adopted by young pioneers across various contexts, vigorously advocating for their active participation and contributions.
A series of compelling case studies were presented, illustrating how innovative thinking can address these intricate issues, fostering a sense of urgency and purpose among youth. Stakeholders of this programme highlighted the remarkable potential of youth-led innovations in addressing water and climate challenges. Diverse collaborative efforts and partnerships facilitated the celebration of various solutions, emphasizing youth leadership and proving that the youth can pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient future.
The Programme Review Workshop was jointly organized by GWP China, GWPO, UNICEF, the CAREC Institute, the Asian Development Bank, the Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund (PRC Fund), and Vital Strategies. The experience sharing and panel discussion, moderated by Yilin MA, Regional Communications Officer of GWP China, brought together voices from diverse backgrounds.
Yilin in Panel Session
On behalf of Global Water Partnership Organization (GWPO), Laurent-Charles Tremblay-Lévesque, IWRM & Knowledge Management Specialist, shared his perspectives on virtual knowledge platforms and the flexibility of engaging youth and children in sharing spaces. "Considering the numerous technologies and policy interventions possible," Laurent stated, "when it comes to WASH, we should work on both the hardware and software. In the realm of software, this is where youth can truly lead the movement forward."
Laurent in Panel Discussion
Laurent addressed three points to explore virtual platforms that empower youth and children: firstly, establishing a children's corner; secondly, exploring digital self-paced courses targeted at teenagers and high school youth; and lastly, producing user-driven content. "For instance, competitions like 'Innovators in Change' could be one way to collect and identify youth-driven solutions and then use these platforms as a megaphone for sharing these innovative ideas," he added. "With this space, we can help youth drive and upload their content, sharing it more broadly with different audiences."
Being a youth winner of the programme, Tina Tan, Vice President, HurRain NanoTech (Beijing) Co., Ltd, shared her insights on better implementing youth-led initiatives. Recalling her experience as a winner of "Innovators in Change" at the Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action in Tajikistan, Tina said, "It was an honor to participate in the conference in Tajikistan and present our air water generation project. What impressed me most about the event was the opportunity to interact with young innovators from all over the world and learn about different innovative products and technologies. For example, one team demonstrated an AI-based water motivating system that predicts changes in water resources in real time. Another team developed new water-saving integration technologies that dramatically improve water efficiency in agriculture. These innovations made me realize the huge potential of science and technology in water resource management, and that our projects need to continuously integrate new technologies to remain competitive."
Tina in Panel Discussion
Addressing the essential values of a virtual knowledge platform, she expressed that innovations in water, climate-related, and other nature-based themes often require knowledge and skills that span geographical boundaries. The virtual knowledge platform breaks down these boundaries and provides an ideal environment for multidisciplinary integrations, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaborations between experts from different areas, fields, and backgrounds. It allows innovative ideas to be easily accessed by researchers and policymakers on a global scale.
GWP China Yellow River Basin boasts a rich history of involving youth and children in initiatives related to water and climate. Zhen Gong, speaking on behalf of the Yellow River Basin Water Partnership, elaborated on their cases and experiences in youth campaigns spanning over a decade. Zhen revealed that they have organized annual campaigns inviting 300 to 600 students to visit the Physical Model Yellow River (a testing facility). During each Science Week or thematic Science Day, they initiated activities aimed at equipping youth with knowledge on water and climate. These endeavors deeply enriched children's understanding of the Yellow River, enabling them to appreciate why it is called 'the Mother River of China' and gain insights into its nature, history, and culture.
Gong Zhen in Panel Discussion
In response to the query about "what are the most engaging or pivotal elements that can captivate children in learning through knowledge-sharing platforms or campaigns," Zhen stated, "Young students favor outdoor settings such as museums, testing facilities, and bio parks. They assimilate information swiftly through games, hands-on activities, teamwork, and real-life models, especially after interacting with experts and tutors." Zhen emphasized that GWP China Yellow River has marshaled technologists, scientists, teachers, tutors, and coaches to actively participate in educating schoolchildren, sharing their knowledge, experiences, tools, case studies, and results with peers on virtual platforms that transcend geographical boundaries. She highlighted, "More exchanges on these platforms can help bridge significant knowledge gaps, making education more accessible to younger learners, particularly children and schoolchildren. Currently, most platforms and their content are not tailored for schoolchildren, and materials do not use language and expressions familiar to them."
Anis in Panel Discussion
Anis Tohirov, a youth representative from Tajikistan working with the Youth for Water and Climate Network, commented on his preferred values in youth-oriented online platforms. According to Anis, his Network has focused on capacity building to increase the role of youth in both policy engagement and project management. He suggested making platforms more participatory, moving beyond a mere knowledge repository to include live Q&A sessions, hackathons, and virtual innovation hubs. "Amplifying engagement and introducing competitions with incentives would motivate young people to actively participate in problem-solving," Anis said. "As a young person and a student, I believe engaging youth in community-level assessments would not only provide valuable data but also empower them to become change makers. And I think to ensure more and more young people participate, the platform can leverage social media for advocacy."
Jingzi in the Interview
The discussion concluded with an inspiring comment from Jingzi Liu, a seventeen-year-old innovator. "I'm very glad to have access to such a platform where adolescents can share knowledge and innovations regarding water resource problems," Jingzi said. "When I was carrying out my water-saving project, I looked at online platforms like Baidu and CNKI to check out more background information and relevant theories on this creation. I was hoping to put them into practice. Comparing their common advantages, I would like the future IWRM platform to be more multifunctional and interactive for us." She recommended expanding bonus points for users who are more active and deliver professional advice. According to Jingzi, teenagers lean more towards efficient spaces where visitors are treated equally, having the right to make comments, like or dislike.
Qiurong in the Q&A session
This event convened representatives from GWPO, GWP China's regional Steering Committee, regional office, local offices from the Belt and Road Working Committee, the Yellow River Basin Partnership, the Hunan Water Partnership, specially invited Professor Dajun Shen, Regional Committee Member of GWP China; Daidi Zhang, Head of Officer at GWP China; Qiurong Liang, Research Associate of the Belt and Road Working Committee of GWP China.
All invited and guests