The international Stockholm Junior Water Prize is a competition that encourages young people's interest in water and environment issues. Beginning in 1995, the award is given annually for an outstanding water project by a young person or a small group of young people at a ceremony held during the
World Water Week in Stockholm
World Water Week in Stockholm is a week-long global water conference held each year in late August or early September. Known as World Water Week, the event is organized and led by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Events and conf ...
. The first two years the competition was held on a national level in Sweden. From 1997 onward the competition has been held in its current international format. The international Stockholm Junior Prize winner receives a USD 15,000 scholarship and a blue crystal sculpture.
The finalists at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize are the winners of their national contests, drawing over 10 000 entries from over 30 countries. The national and international competitions are open to pre-university young people ages 15–20 who have conducted water-related projects on topics on environmental, scientific, social, or technological importance. The national competitions have helped students around the world become active in water issues.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Monarchy of Sweden, Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to t ...
is the Patron of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
Stockholm International Water Institute
The Stockholm International Water Institute, SIWI, is an independent, not-for-profit foundation, which seeks to strengthen the governance of fresh water globally, regionally, nationally, and locally. Founded in 1991, SIWI performs research, buil ...
administers the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
Past winners
In 2019, Macinley Butson,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having developed a new, novel and innovative ultraviolet sticker to accurately measure large UV exposures for solar disinfection of water.
In 2018, Caleb Liow Jia Le and Johnny Xiao Hong Yu,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having produced reduced graphene oxide from agricultural waste products, a material that can be used to purify water.
In 2017, Rachel Chang and Ryan Thorpe,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having created a novel approach to rapidly and sensitively detect and purify water contaminated with E. coli, Shigella, Cholera, and Salmonella.
In 2016, Sureeporn Triphetprapa, Thidarat Phianchat, and Kanjana Komkla,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their water retention device that mimics the water retention of the Bromeliad plant.
In 2015, Perry Alagappan,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having invented a method that uses nanotechnology to remove
electronic waste
Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informa ...
from water, the product of his research experiments with support from the members of the Barron Lab of Rice University, Houston, Texas.
In 2014, Hayley Todesco,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having invented a method that uses sand filters to treat oil contaminated water and recover water for reuse.
In 2013, Naomi Estay and Omayra Toro,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their work on how living organisms can help clean oil spills in extremely low temperatures.
In 2012, Luigi Marshall Cham, Jun Yong Nicholas Lim and Tian Ting Carrie-Anne Ng,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their research on how clay can be used in a low cost method to remove and recover pollutants from wastewater.
In 2011, Alison Bick,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having developed a low-cost portable method to test water quality using a mobile phone.
In 2010, Alexandre Allard and Danny Luong,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their research on readily available bacteria able to degrade polystyrene and decontaminate polystyrene-contaminated water.
In 2009, Ceren Burçak Dag,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having developed a high tech solution that used
PVDF
Polyvinylidene fluoride or polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) is a highly non-reactive thermoplastic fluoropolymer produced by the polymerization of vinylidene difluoride.
PVDF is a specialty plastic used in applications requiring the highest pur ...
, a smart material with piezoelectric properties, to transfer the kinetic energy of raindrops into electrical energy.
In 2008, Joyce Chai,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having developed a novel technique to quantifying the potential toxicity of silver
nanoparticles
A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...
to the world's water sources and the environment, and in doing so repudiating the assertion that consumer products that contain nanosilver are more reliable and less environmentally hazardous than alternatives.
In 2007, Adriana Alcántara Ruiz, Dalia Graciela Díaz Gómez and Carlos Hernández Mejía,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their project on the elimination of
Pb(II) from water via bio-adsorption using eggshell.
In 2006, Wang Hao, Xiao Yi and Weng Jie,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their originality, ingenuity and tenacity in their use of low-cost, ecologically friendly technology to restore a polluted urban river channel.
In 2005, Pontso Moletsane, Motebele Moshodi and Sechaba Ramabenyane,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their revolutionary solution to minimize the need for water in small-scale irrigation. They developed a low-current electric soil humidity sensor which uses light detection to control water pipe valves and improve irrigation efficiency.
In 2004, Tsutomu Kawahira, Daisuke Sunakawa and Kaori Yamaguti,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for the development and application of an environmentally friendly organic fertiliser for the
Miyako Island
is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other populated islands ...
. The method is applicable to many places around the world.
In 2003, Claire Reid,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for an innovative, practical, easily applicable technique for planting and successfully germinating seeds in water-scarce areas to improve rural and peri-urban livelihoods.
In 2002, Katherine Holt,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for research that looked at how foreign species could be introduced to benefit the
Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to:
*Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian
* The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay
*Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula
Chesapeake may also refer to:
Populated plac ...
while preserving the Bay's native oyster species and meeting national environmental goals.
In 2001, Magnus Isacson, Johan Nilvebrant and Rasmus Öman,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their innovative and relevant research on the use of natural materials to remove metals in
leachate
A leachate is any liquid that, in the course of passing through matter, extracts soluble or suspended solids, or any other component of the material through which it has passed.
Leachate is a widely used term in the environmental sciences wher ...
from landfills.
In 2000, Ashley Mulroy,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for a contemporary project that investigated how inefficient waste water treatment processes can lead not only to antibiotic contamination in American waterways, but also to progressive resistance among harmful bacteria to those same antibiotics that once controlled them.
In 1999, Rosa Lozano, Elisabeth Pozo and Rocío Ruiz,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for an innovative project that used sea urchins, starfish and sea cucumbers to measure the effectiveness of an EU beach protection program on Spain’s western Mediterranean coast.
In 1998, Robert Franke,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for his design of the Aquakat, a solar-powered, flow-through reactor for the treatment of industrial wastewaters.
In 1997, Stephen Tinnin,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, won the first international Stockholm Junior Water Prize for having investigated the correlation between the reproductive rate of sea urchins and water pollution.
In 1996, Maria Bergström, Katarina Evans, Anette Gustafsson and Elin Sieurin,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their project proposing the establishment of a wetland area to reduce the outflow of nutrients into the Baltic Sea, and thereby also creating a recreational park for the enjoyment of the citizens in Nyköping municipality.
In 1995, Mattias Wiggberg,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, won the very first Stockholm Junior Water Prize for his research of overfertilization and its effect on Lake Kvarnsjön in Södertälje municipality, as well as his proposed actions to mitigate the problems he found. The local government acted on his research.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Stockholm Junior Water PrizeOfficial page of the SJWP.
International SJWP infoInformation about SJWP from the Water Environment Federation.
Swedish awards
Environmental awards
Water and the environment