by The non-profit architecture forum The World Around has announced the 25 finalists for its Young Climate Prize, which recognizes young creatives who have developed projects that address and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The 25 creatives come from diverse socio-economic and geographic backgrounds and were selected by The World Around for their ingenuity.
Some of the finalists are researcher Anushuka Shahdadpuri, who is developing a network of pathways to accelerate clean water in India; photographer Aida Namukose, who documented climate change-affected women in the food industry in Uganda; and designer Esther Olalude, who created affordable sanitary napkins from recycled waste.
Other finalists include designer Moemen Sobh, who developed a fish skin leather to support the fishing industry in Egypt, and Joseph Nguthiru, a chemist who invented a biodegradable plastic made from water hyacinth.
Each of the 25 creatives will be mentored by a leading name in the architecture and design industry who will support and coach them. The 25 mentors include MoMa curator Paola Antonelli, Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao and South African architect Sumayya Vally.
After the mentorship, three designers will be invited to New York City to present their work at The World Around’s annual summit at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Earth Day, April 22, 2023.
“The World Around is focused on what’s happening now and how it can change the future,” said Founder and Director of The World Around Beatrice Galilee.
“This group of inspiring young activists, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers and poets has shown us where the world’s attention should be. Your generation has a vested interest in finding solutions to our biggest challenges.”
The World Around is a New York City-based platform founded in 2020 by Galilee and Diego Marroquin.
It is dedicated to disseminating the latest design and architecture through an interdisciplinary and global lens that aims to highlight unique and radical design projects dedicated to climate resilience.
The finalists were grouped into five different themes: Words Matter, Creating Connections, Innovators and Inventors, All About Water, and Radical Reuse.
Below are the 25 finalists of The World Around’s Young Climate Prize mentoring initiative:
words matter
Alfonse Chiu, researcher
Project/Research Topic: Investigating Neocolonial Tropical Fruit Flows
Location: Singapore
Mentor: Paola Antonelli, MoMA curator and author
Aziba Ekio, poet
Project/research topic: a book of poetry entitled The Color Green
Location: Nigeria
Mentor: Sumayya Vally, Architect
Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores, writer and photographer
Project/research topic: a climate change focused project called Climate Words
Location: Mexico
Mentor: Mariana Pestana, architect, researcher and curator
Mangaliso Ngcobo and Sam Harding, Writers and Editors
Project/research topic: TWIST magazine
Location: South Africa
Mentor: Susan Sellers, Founding Partner and Executive Creative Director of 2×4
Nastia Volynova, researcher
Project/research topic: Investigation of the changes in work forms due to climate change
Location: Russia
Mentor: Carson Chan, curator and writer
Aida Namukose, Photographer
Project/research topic: Documentation of women affected by climate change in the food industry in Uganda
Location: Uganda
Mentor: José Esparza Chong Cuy, curator
create connections
Marilita Quintana Molina, artist
Project/Research Topic: Collecting plastic waste from their local region in Chile with the intention of using it to improve their community
Location: Chile
Mentor: Abraham Cruzvillegas, artist
Shariffa Amolo Anguria, activist
Project/research topic: Research on the effects of traditional gold mining
Location: Kenya
Mentor: Joar Nango, architect and artist
Raihan Rabbannee Hendrawan, presenter
Project/research topic: A project focused on getting young people involved in climate action
Location: Indonesia
Mentor: Emma Osore, Co-CEO at BlackSpace
Sophia Tabibian and Lulu Goulet-Hofsass, community leaders
Project/research topic: an online climate hub for global activists
Location: United States
Mentor: Bruce Mau, Designer
Sahithi Radha, activist
Professional and research topic: Development of an e-waste collection and recycling initiative
Location: India
Mentor: Cyra Levenson, Associate Director, Education and Community Engagement, Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
Hannah Segerkrantz, product designer
Project/research topic: Use of hemp as an environmentally friendly building material through an open-source design
Location: Estonia
Mentor: Wael Al Awar, Head of Waiwai Design
innovators and inventors
Jin Gao, researcher
Project/research topic: Researcher investigates the survival of bees under volatile climate conditions
Location: China
Mentor: Alder Keleman Saxena
David Andres Vega Monsalve, artist
Project/research topic: Using Virtual Reality to show the effects of flooding in Pakistan
Location: Colombia
Mentor: Camila Marambio, curator
Ichor Joshua Kegnen, mechanical engineer
Project/research topic: A device for monitoring pollution in boreholes and water wells
Location: Nigeria
Mentor: Max Fraser, design writer
Chris Vrettos, Energy Advocate
Location: Greece
Project/Research Topic: A project focused on Greece’s first all-solar powered community.
Mentor: Aric Chen, curator
Esther Olalude, designer
Location: Nigeria
Project/research topic: Making affordable sanitary napkins from recycled waste
Mentor: Etta Madete, architect and co-founder and director of Zima Homes
Everything about water
Namra Khalid, researcher
Location: Pakistan
Project/Research Topic: Creation of the first socio-climatic map of Pakistan to treat floods in Karachi, Pakistan
Mentor: Henk Ovink, environmental leader
Anushuka Shahdadpuri, designer
Location: India
Project/Research Topic: Developing a Network of Ways to Accelerate Clean Water in India
Mentor: Noura Al Sayeh Holtrop, architect and curator
Joseph Nguthiru, chemist
Location: Kenya
Project/research topic: A biodegradable plastic made from water hyacinth
Mentor: Jan Boelen, designer
Radical Reuse
Gabriela Angelina Bernal Ibáñez, engineer and architect
Location: Mexico
Project/Research Topic: A research project investigating the use of recycled panels in Mexico
Mentor: Ensamble Studio, architectural firm
Foday David Kamara, Researcher
Location: Rwanda
Project/research topic: A social enterprise in Rwanda aiming to reduce plastic waste
Mentor: Dominic Leong, co-founder of Leong Leong Architecture
Moemen Sobh, Architect
Location: Egypt
Project/research topic: The development of a leather made of fish skin
Mentor: Nelly Ben Hayoun, Designer
Mohammed Dimma Mawejjedesigner
Location: Uganda
Project/research topic: Use of agricultural waste and second-hand clothes to produce bags, earrings and dresses
Mentor: Isabelle Quivelly, Head of Creative Shop, Facebook UK
Stanley Anigbogudesigner
Location: Nigeria
Project/Research Topic: A project providing access to energy for students and refugees in Nigeria
Mentor: Harry Pearce, Designer
