The winners of the 2025 Global Integrated Flood and Drought Management Youth-Led Projects Competition have been announced, with initiatives in Nigeria and Uganda taking home the crown.
The first winner was GreenQuest: Flood Resilience through Gamification and Community Action (Nigeria), which aims to strengthen flood resilience in three high-risk, low-income communities in Lagos – Makoko, Bariga, and Iwaya – by combining gamification, storytelling and hands-on community engagement.
The project seeks to drive behavioral change and improve preparedness by:
- Educating and empowering youth and community members through interactive, game-based learning on flood preparedness, waste management and early warning systems;
- Reducing flood risk in three highly exposed Lagos communities through nature-based solutions, including rain gardens and permeable pavements;
- Mobilizing youth volunteers to promote proper waste disposal and drainage maintenance through clean-up drives and advocacy campaigns;
- Integrating Indigenous knowledge and local expertise to ensure culturally grounded and locally relevant adaptation strategies.
The second winner was SV4CASH: Smart Village for Climate Action Self-Help (Uganda), which seeks to empower rural communities to take charge of their own climate resilience by promoting a shift from external dependency to self-help and collective local action to mitigate the impacts of floods.
Key components of the project include:
- Youth-led flood vulnerability mapping and community-based early warning initiatives;
- Training programs that build skills in climate action and sustainable practices;
- Community-driven flood intervention measures, designed and led by residents;
- A strong emphasis on leadership and agency, inspiring a generation of youth who do not wait for solutions but actively create them. From schoolchildren to local council leaders, every community member will have a role in building a climate-resilient community.
These initiatives highlight the dedication of young people working to build safer, more resilient communities in the face of growing climate risks.
The competition
The Global Integrated Flood and Drought Management Competition for Youth-Led projects was established to support innovative, community-driven ideas that address the challenges posed by floods and droughts, in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. The competition aims to:
- Empower young people with opportunities to design and lead practical solutions for disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response;
- Strengthen communities’ resilience by supporting initiatives that are rooted in community needs;
- Encourage youth engagement and showcase youth impacts in building flood and drought resilience.
The awards are organized as part of the activities of the Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) and the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), which are joint programs of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP).
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