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World Water Day, celebrated annually on March 22, is a day dedicated to highlight the critical role of freshwater and promote its sustainable management. The theme for this year, ‘Water for Peace’ calls for equitable distribution of water benefits through active stakeholder engagement. 

On April 5, 2024, The UNESCO Water Resilience Challenge 2024 brought together 61 young leaders from Southeast Asia to exhibit and deliberate on their groundbreaking projects. Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director of UNESCO Regional Office in Jakarta, emphasized the crucial role of these young pioneers “The active participation of young people, as change-makers of today and leaders of tomorrow, holds the key to the promotion of water as a tool to ease social and security tension and foster a sustainable peace.”

These young innovators who have progressed to the implementation phase, shared their plans of pilot implementation at UNESCO-designated sites and protected areas across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. The ideas and efforts of these young water trailblazers offer a variety of solutions and approaches to address local water challenges. Their projects range from enhancing local water management capacities and utilizing advanced technology, to optimizing water use for both humans and wildlife.

This event not only served as a vibrant platform to showcase youth-led initiatives but also significantly boosted awareness and inspired actions towards sustainable water management. It reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to nurturing youth involvement in solving water issues.