The United Nations Environment Programme on December 15, 2020, named seven young engineers, scientists, activists, and entrepreneurs from all over the world as its Young Champions of the Earth 2020. The list of the winners also includes Vidyut Mohan, a 29 years old entrepreneur from India and co-founder of ‘Takachar’, an enterprise that enables farmers in preventing the open burning of waste farm residues.
From recycling plastic into paving slabs, providing solutions to harvest from the air, and motivating fishing boats to haul plastics out of the ocean, the prize is awarded to the change-makers who show that the innovative ideas with action can easily help in solving some of the world’s most serious environmental challenges.
The Young Champions of the Earth Prize by UNEP is awarded every year to 7 entrepreneurs who are under 30 and have bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. The winners of the prize from different regions around the globe are able to receive mentoring, seed funding, and communications support for expanding their efforts.
The Young Champions of the Earth prize is UNEP’s leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world's most pressing environmental challenges.
— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) December 15, 2020
These 7 young scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs & activists are the 2020 #YoungChamps! 🎉#ForNature https://t.co/Uiyf8pySFH
Seven 2020 Young Champions of the Earth:
The winners were selected by a global jury of experts after a public nomination. The Champions are:
| Winners | Region | Solutions for environmental challenges |
| Nzambi Matee (Kenya, 29) | Africa | Materials Engineer and head of Gjenge Makers. It produces low-cost construction material from recycled plastic waste and sand. |
| Xiaoyuan Ren (China, 29) | Asia and the Pacific | Leads a data platform, MyH20. It tests and records the quality of groundwater across thousands of villages in China into an app so that the residents know where they can find clean water. |
| Vidyut Mohan (India, 29) | Asia and the Pacific | Co-Founder of Takachar. It builds portable and affordable biomass upgrading equipment which allows farmers to earn extra income. It also prevents open burning by converting crop waste into fertilizers, fuels, and activates carbon. |
| Lefteris Arapakis from Greece, 26 years old | Europe | Founded a start-up. It empowers, trains the local fishing community in the area in collecting plastic waste from the sea, allowing both ecosystem and fish stocks to recover. |
| Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru, 30) | Latin America and the Caribbean | Founded Yawa. Building portable wind turbines that can harvest up to 300 litres of water every day from humidity and mist in the atmosphere. |
| Niria Alicia Garcia (USA, 28) | North America | Coordinates the annual Run 4 Salmon event with the use of virtual reality to bring to life the journey of Sacramento Chinook salmon along the largest watershed of California, raising awareness for the species, ecosystem, and people it supports |
| Fatemah Alzelzela from Kuwait, 24 years old | West Asia | Started a non-profit organisation for recycling initiative which exchanges plants and trees for wastes from schools, homes, and businesses in Kuwait. Since its launch in 2019, it has recycled over 130 tonnes of waste |
Young Champions of the Earth:
The prize is UNEP’s leading initiative. It engages youth in tackling the most pressing environmental challenges of the world. The winners of the programme are awarded prize money as well as mentorship for supporting their environmental initiative. Ever since its inception in 2017, 28 environmental activists have been recognized under the programme from every corner of the globe.
About the United Nations Environment Programme:
It is a leading global voice on the environment. It aims at providing leadership and encouraging the partnership for the environment by informing, inspiring, and enabling the individuals and nations in improving the quality of life without compromising that of the future generations.
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