Blue Peace & Youth
Young people, like water, drive peace and cooperation. Youth play a critical role in the Blue Peace movement by using their voice to advocate for water and peace at every level—from local communities to the world stage.
Youth organizations participating in the
Blue Peace movement
Young people drive the multi-stakeholder movement for water and peace which not only includes organizations run by young people but also institutions, foundations and companies that support the next generation. They are agents of change, a motivating force, bringing fresh perspectives and using new technologies to push society to think differently about water challenges and how to more effectively respond to them.
Through Blue Peace, young people are able to express their commitments to water and peace, participate in political decision-making and contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society.
World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW)
and the European Youth Parliament for Water (EYPW):
These global networks ensure that youth are recognized as legitimate water stakeholders with tangible effects on outcomes, while also taking direct action in over 80 countries. The goal of the Parliaments is to strengthen capacity for successful local youth projects, while influencing decision makers and ensuring the voices of youth are heard. Recently, both parliaments saw a significant expansion of partnerships while also accelerating the creation of 30 local, regional and basin-level Youth Parliaments for Water. In total, there are 6000 members of all Youth Parliaments for Water globally. At the local level, the Youth Parliaments for Water provide support for young leaders who want to implement projects, while enabling them to learn from best practices elsewhere. Water parliament members are increasingly involved in decision making process at all levels and with institutions around the world. Both the WYPW and the EYPW are supported by The International Secretariat for Water and Solidarity Water Europe (ISW-SWE).
Young Water Solutions (YWS)
YWS is an international non-profit youth-led organization whose mission is to develop and support the potential of young people to contribute to universal water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and water resources management. It does so by empowering young leaders from low and middle income countries to implement water projects and create water and sanitation start-ups, by providing them with the tools they need to pilot their initiatives. Its flagship programme, the Young Water Fellowship, provides training, mentorship and seed funding as a support package for 'young water entrepreneurs' 18 to 30 years old. Start-ups can have a positive impact on economic development of a specific sector or country. In politically and economically unstable regions, labour markets often stagnate or remain inaccessible for large portions of the population. Entrepreneurship, as supported by YWS, creates perspectives for local people and offers employment opportunities. Social entrepreneurship in the water sector not only creates economic benefit for start-up owners but also additional value for the local population, as access to safe, affordable drinking water and sustainable management of water resources are improved. It creates income opportunities and, ultimately, long-term stability in the region.
Central Asian Youth for Water (CAY4W) Network
Established in 2015 by the alumni of the Integrated Water Resources Management Master’s Degree at the German-Kazakh University, CAY4W empowers a new generation of water leaders to contribute to the sustainable and peaceful development of the region through transboundary integrated water resource management.
CAY4W supports young water advocates by:
Providing training and capacity building- Encouraging youth to take action locally
- Strengthening and amplifying young people’s voices locally, nationally, regionally and on the global stage
CAY4W has received support from the International Secretariat for Water and the Swiss agency for Development and Cooperation for their activities since 2018.
