Water Alliance, in association with Emirates Environmental Group, have announced the winners of the 2023 edition of the RE-NEW Our World Challenge. The competition was open to students in schools across the UAE, aged between 8 and 18, with participants split into two age categories. Their work was judged based on several criteria, including impact, feasibility, innovation, and sustainability.
The exciting bit is that Sinchana Hiremath, from GEMS Our Own English High School (Dubai), who took home first place in the Senior Category, will go on to represent the UAE at the prestigious Stockholm Junior Water Prize international competition, with the finals scheduled to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, in August this year. The overall winner will receive a grand prize of $15,000 and a trophy presented by the prize’s patron, HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Sinchana chose to focus on the issue of water pollution, and specifically the detrimental impact of microbeads. Sinchana has developed a novel Microplastic Radar App to help detect harmful components in the ingredient lists of commercially available products. Another innovative solution was put forward by thirteen-year-old Aliya Nujum Navaz from Al Ain Juniors School (Abu Dhabi), who won the challenge’s mid-age (12-14) category. Aliya’s cutting-edge solution uses drone technology to identify and target fires, serving as an alternative to traditional techniques that require and consume large amounts of water. Hope you like Listening to this episode, Please do subscribe to my podcast on Apple Podcast or wherever you are listening in. Thank you :)