Young Champion Challenge 2026 – Call for Student Applications

Under the umbrella of Cairo Water Week 2026 and in celebration of 50 years of Dutch‑Egyptian cooperation in the water sector, Wavemakers United and Cairo Water Week invite students to apply for the Young Champion Challenge 2026 (YCC). The challenge empowers young people to design innovative, implementable solutions that contribute to a more climate‑resilient future through water.

Challenge focus and themes

Participants are invited to:
“Develop an innovative and implementable idea that addresses one or more of the following global challenges to ensure a more resilient future: (1) smart agriculture, (2) sustainable coastal management, (3) water, hygiene promotion, and sanitation (WASH), (4) climate resilience, and (5) emerging digital technologies, notably AI for sustainability.”

The challenge welcomes technical innovations, provided that the idea is realistic, locally grounded, and has the potential to be scaled and replicated in other contexts.

Submit your work : https://forms.gle/ZyKy6bgxnsagouyM9

Key dates and timeline

Application period (initial idea submission):

• Early submission: 13 October 2025 – 15 December 2025
• Late submission: 16 December 2025 – 15 January 2025
• Notification of admitted applicants: no later than 30 January 2026

Phase Two – In‑person Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (Cairo):

Three‑day bootcamp in Cairo between 3–5 April 2026, followed by submission of the final prototype (MVP) and Business Model Canvas (BMC) by 30 June 2026.

Phase One – Innovation E‑School (online):

Five‑day online masterclasses by international experts between 1–14 February 2026, followed by local outreach activities and submission of an Impact Report by 15 March 2026.

Phase Three – Dutch‑Egyptian Pitching Camp:

A selected group of top projects from Egypt and the Netherlands will be invited to a joint pitching camp in summer 2026, where the top 10 ideas will be chosen as the Young Champions of the Challenge.

Final at Cairo Water Week 2026:

The 10 Young Champion teams will pitch their ideas during the closing of the 50‑year bilateral water cooperation celebration at the 9th edition of Cairo Water Week (October 2026).

Who can apply?

The Young Champion Challenge is open to individual students and student teams (2–6 students) under two age divisions:

• Rising Champion Division:
  Secondary and high school students (or equivalent) aged 14–18 years.
• Elite Champion Division:
  Students aged 19–24 yearsenrolled at a knowledge institute (university, college, technical institute, etc.).

All fields of study are welcome (engineering, agriculture, economics, medicine, arts, social sciences and more), as long as the idea clearly connects to water and the SDGs. Each team appoints a Team Captain as the main contact point responsible for submitting all documents via the Challenge website.

Application requirements and submissions

To participate, students must:

• Meet the age and enrollment criteria for one of the two divisions.
• Have the capacity to engage with local communities and share knowledge on water and sustainability.
• Agree to the terms and conditionsof the Challenge.

First round submission (application phase):

• Online Challenge Form(team and institution information, contact details, and basic idea description).
• A concise 3‑slide presentation, covering at minimum:
  1. Findings from the local community and a clear problem statement.
  2. The proposed idea/solution.
  3. Planned approach and next steps to develop the idea during the Challenge.

Second round submission (after Phase Two):

• Final prototype (MVP)of the solution and Business Model Canvas (BMC).
• Additional qualitative information via a short questionnaire about the project journey and plans towards the final pitching stage.

Judging process and selection criteria

Submissions will be reviewed in two rounds:

• A Youth Juryof global young leaders in sustainability and water will review the first‑round submissions (after 10 March 2026).
• A combined High‑level Expert Jury and Youth Jurywill assess the final submissions (after 20 June 2026) and select the top projects invited to the Dutch‑Egyptian Pitching Camp and, ultimately, the 10 Young Champions announced at Cairo Water Week.

Key evaluation criteria include:

• Clear and relevant response to the Challenge question and focus themes.
• Strong connection to water and one or more SDGs.
• Originality and level of innovation(technical and/or social).
• Strong link to local community needs, with realistic implementation potential and possible global applicability.

Awards and opportunities

The top 10 Young Champion teams will:

• Present their ideas in a high‑profile final pitching sessionduring Cairo Water Week 2026 in front of policymakers, experts, and international partners.
• Become part of a growing youth innovation network connected to Wavemakers United and other regional and global platforms (such as the UN 2026 Water Conference and the World Water Forum 2027).

Subject to available resources and partner support, winners may also be eligible for:

• Financial support to further develop their project.
• Internship opportunities, mentoring, and technical guidance.
• Certificates and visibility through Cairo Water Week and Wavemakers United communication channels.

How to apply and contact

Students and institutions interested in joining the Young Champion Challenge 2026 are invited to submit their applications via the official Challenge Form and follow the detailed instructions provided on the Challenge website.

For questions regarding eligibility or the application procedure, please contact the Challenge team at: competition_info@cairowaterweek.eg