Bangladesh Stockholm junior water prize national finale held at ITN-Buet

The 10th season of the prestigious "Bangladesh Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2024," culminated in a grand finale on Friday (3 May), at Buet's International Training Network (ITN) Centre.

This year's theme, 'Inspiring Today's Students, Empowering Tomorrow's Water,' underscored the critical role of youth engagement in water resource management and innovation, reads a press release.

From a nationwide selection process, 11 exemplary teams earned their place in the final showdown.Among them 4 teams comprise of girls. An illustrious jury panel, comprising experts and dignitaries, presided over the event. The panel included Nayoka Martinez Bäckström- First Secretary, Environment & Climate Change and Deputy Head, Development Cooperation Section Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Dr. Tanvir Ahmed- Director of ITN and Professor of Civil Engineering at BUET; MD.Tawhidur Rahman,Technical Expert, Cities Support Unit, CWIS-FSM Support Cell, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE); Bushra Monowar Duti- Technical Specialist WaterAid; Dr. Mohidus Samad Khan- Executive Director, BEXIMCO Health and PPE, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Project Manager of ESTex, BUET; Dr. Ferdous Sarwar- Professor and Head Department of Industrial & Production Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology; Mostafizur Rahman- Programme Officer at the Embassy of Sweden; Md. Tahmidul Islam- Technical Lead at WaterAid Bangladesh and Nargis Akter- WASH Officer (Water Quality & Water Supply), Water Sanitation & Hygiene Section, UNICEF.

Since its inception in the last week of October of the previous year, the competition has seen participation from 168, with members aged 15-20. Following rigorous evaluation, 11 papers were chosen for the final stage from 46 submissions. The competition's primary goal was to amplify the voice of the young generation and to catalyze actionable outcomes in water-related challenges.

The winners of this distinguished competition will represent Bangladesh at the "Stockholm Junior Water Prize" in Stockholm, Sweden, this August, joining peers from 40+ other nations.

The event was intricately coordinated by the national organizer, the House of Volunteers (HOV), officially designated by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). This collaborative undertaking engaged esteemed partners, including co-organizer WaterAid Bangladesh, strategic allies Unicef, and ITN-BUET, with crucial technical support rendered by the esteemed technical partner ESTex and media support by The Business Standard.