YOUNG CLIMATE PRIZE 2025 WINNERS

This year, 25 finalists from 17 countries participated in the Young Climate Prize Design Academy, where they received mentorship and training from leading designers, architects and experts to help develop their projects. Four changemakers were identified by a world-class jury for special acclaim: Dayana Blanco Quiroga (25, Bolivia), Mohamed Salem Mohamed Ali (23, Algeria), Kenneth Uche (24, Nigeria) and Amara Nwuneli (17, Nigeria). 

Their initiatives include a farm addressing rising food insecurity in a desert refugee community, a stove that reduces indoor air pollution while generating power to energy-deprived homes, a youth movement mobilizing climate action across economic divides through the development of a community park, and a conservation initiative applying indigenous ecological knowledge to restore a polluted wetland reserve.

Awardees will each receive a cash prize and a trip to New York to share their work on stage at The World Around Summit 2025, presented this year in partnership with MoMA’s Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and the Natural Environment.

Dayana Blanco, guided by the mentorship of Sebastian Acampante, received the honorary award from the Jury of the Clima Joven Award Cycle 02. She is an indigenous Aymara woman, and leads the restoration of Lake Uru Uru, a wetland reserve in the Bolivian Andes severely polluted by mining waste and tailings from the nearby city of Oruro. Since 2019, his Uru Uru Team has adapted ancestral ecological knowledge to clean up the lake, using collected plastic waste and harnessing the absorptive capacity of totora, a native plant. Their efforts have already reduced pollution in some areas of the lake by up to 30%.

The World Around named Mohamed Salem Mohamed Ali, a Saharawi farmer and artist from Algeria, as a Young Climate Visionary. In Algeria’s Smara refugee camp, Mohamed Ali is pioneering desert agriculture solutions like “sandponic” and hydroponic systems to combat food insecurity. His Nomad Garden, built with tires and found objects, blends farming with art, serving as both a sustainable food source and an inspiration for self-reliance. Through a short film, he encourages other refugees to grow their own crops, fostering a movement toward community sustainability.

This cycle's Young Climate Designer is Kenneth Uche. Founder of Smokeless Briqs Energy Solutions, he has developed a high-efficiency stove made from locally sourced, recycled metals to combat indoor air pollution, which claims over 98,000 lives annually in Nigeria. Designed for remote communities, his innovative stove also features a thermoelectric generator (TEG) to provide essential power to energy-deprived rural homes, offering both a cleaner cooking solution and a sustainable energy source.

Finally, who stands out as the Young Voice of the Climate is activist and storyteller Amara Nwuneli. Founder of Preserve Our Roots, is leading a youth climate justice movement in Lagos. Her team of 250 is transforming an underutilized plot in a low-income community into a pioneering park for climate education, activism, and recreation—built entirely with recycled materials. With a vision to create a network of urban green spaces across Nigeria, Amara is fostering a nationwide movement for environmental stewardship.