Water Solutions for Sustainable Development
This year’s winners were selected for their impactful and innovative solutions to water-related challenges by demonstrating potential benefits for the environment and direct impacts that support communities, with a focus on social, environmental and economic equity.
“We are impressed by the bold and creative submissions from young innovators in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Each submission presented very interesting water-related solutions with a focus on sustainable development and demonstrated the drive and commitment of youth to act and provide solutions to pressing environmental challenges,” said Jorge Daniel Taillant, CEC Executive Director. “The future relies on the initiatives of young eco-entrepreneurs, like the participants in our CEC Youth innovation Challenge. Their passion for the environment and skillful ambition to tackle grave challenges will serve our planet and communities well.”
Winners of the 2023 CEC Youth Innovation Challenge Announced
Aquaponics: A water-wise solution for sustainable food production
Gabrielle Kirk and Michael Lavorato
Aquaponics: A water-wise solution for sustainable food production puts forward an innovative and sustainable form of agriculture as an alternative to current agricultural practices.
BlueBond: burbujas que protegen nuestro agua (BlueBond: bubbles protecting our water)
Paloma Arena Serrano Ramos and Annie Aixa Rosas Hernández
BlueBond: burbujas que protegen nuestra agua (BlueBond: bubbles protecting our water) offers a new way to fight plastic pollution in water bodies in North America.
Escuela itinerante del agua por la vida (Water for life mobile school)
Perseida Tenorio Toledo and María Guiebeu Ballesteros Ávila
The water for life mobile school is a solution which creates local change agents in Indigenous and marginalized communities to provide solutions to different water related issues.
Is your water well?
Hailey Hall
Is your water well is a community-based public health awareness campaign focused on well testing and identifying nitrate pollution.
2023 Evaluation Panel
We would like to thank our multidisciplinary Evaluation Panel for volunteering their time and expertise to review the amazing solutions received!
Meet our 2023 Evaluation Panel:
Water expert
François Anctil
Water expert
Director, Department of Civil and Water Engineering at Laval University
François Anctil is professor and director of the Department of Civil and Water Engineering at Université Laval. He specializes in hydrology, hydrometeorology, flood forecasting, climate change, and water governance. He has led the conceptualization and implementation of water engineering programs at Université Laval. He is the current Director of the Water Research Centre at Université Laval and was also, from 2001 to 2006, director of the Institut Hydro-Québec in environment, dévelopment and society (EDS) at Université Laval, an interdisciplinary think tank on sustainable development. He has co-authored three books and 175 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
Jaime Webbe
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
President and CEO, United Nations Association in Canada
Jaime Webbe (she / her) is the president and CEO of the United Nations Association in Canada, a 77-year old charity, whose mission is to educate and engage Canadians in the work of the UN and the critical international issues that affect us all.
She has worked, over her career, in several UN Agencies based in Montreal, Copenhagen, Nairobi and Washington, DC, during which she has developed a deep appreciation for the UN and other international organizations through staff positions with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Climate Convention’s Climate Technology Centre and Network, the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Bank. Her primary areas of technical expertise are nature-based climate solutions, biodiversity conservation, and youth engagement.
Youth representative
Krystal Pyke
Youth representative
ClimateSense Program Learning Coordinator, University of Prince Edward Island and the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation
Krystal Pyke (BSc, BEd, MAEEC) is the ClimateSense Program Learning Coordinator with the University of Prince Edward Island and the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation. Krystal is committed to providing cross-sector dynamic experiential learning opportunities that integrate science-based evidence, historical context, and differentiated knowledge practices to help individuals and communities confront complex ecological issues. Krystal’s previous roles as an ecosystem and fisheries technician, indigenous justice coordinator, science teacher, and park naturalist give them a broad understanding of how changing climate conditions impact life on earth and how we can work together to create solutions for a better future.
Water expert
Eduardo Batllori Sampedro
Water expert
Researcher, Center for Research Studies and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav)
Holder of a PhD in Geography from the University of Havana, Cuba, an MSc from the Center for Research Studies and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav-IPN) and a degree in Hydrobiology from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM-Iztapalapa), Eduardo Batllori Sampedro has been a researcher at Cinvestav’s Mérida Unit since 2018. He is also a Level I member of the National Network of Researchers (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores—SNI). In addition to publishing numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and participating via presentations and keynote addresses in over 100 national and international conferences, Eduardo Batllori Sampedro has devoted the better part of his professional life to academia, notably by teaching postgraduate courses and supervising undergraduate and Master’s dissertations.
He has also developed and subsequently managed various environmental projects submitted to national and international agencies. As a former Minister of Urban Development and the Environment for the state of Yucatán, he was responsible for directing the state’s urban environmental policy.
Youth representative
Érika Uicab Campos
Youth representative
Climate change adaptation leader, Ministry of Sustainable Development of Yucatán
Érika Uicab Campos holds a BSc in Chemical Industrial Engineering from the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY). She has wide experience in designing and leading environmental and sustainability projects, environmental management, watershed governance and social projects in learning communities, among other matters of interest to her.
In recognition of her outstanding work on environmental issues, she has received three different national awards. She led the Mexican Youth for the Environment Network, which, in 2016, was the first civil society group to promote Agenda 2030 in the state of Yucatán.
She has also contributed by generating public policy advocacy and by participating in various spaces for intersectoral dialog, including the Committee of Socially Responsible Enterprises of Yucatán. She is currently a consultant, university professor, volunteer and climate change adaptation leader at the Ministry of Sustainable Development of the state of Yucatán.
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
Paola Orozco Barragán
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
Social responsibility analyst, Monex Bank
Holder of a BA in Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development from Anáhuac del Norte University, Paola Orozco Barragán completed various courses in environmental stewardship, environmental impact assessment and project management. Currently a social responsibility analyst at Monex Bank, she implements strategies to advance the bank’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility, as well as develop welfare projects for the benefit of the institution’s employees and partners. Ms. Orozco Barragán is also an active advisor to the Mexican Association for Assistance to Children with Cancer (Asociación Mexicana de Ayuda a Niños con Cáncer—AMANC).
Water expert
Erica Lynn Porta
Water expert
Energy and Climate Analyst, Concurrent Technologies Corporation
Co-Founder and USA Co-President, North American Youth Parliament for Water (NAYPW)
Erica-Lynn (“Lynn”) Porta is a water resources policy analyst working at the intersections of communities and governments. Her work in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast United States, and now currently in Washington, DC, supports communities and governments at multiple levels to improve working relationships and share resources towards resilient, practical, critical solutions for water and climate challenges. She currently works as a Climate and Energy Analyst at Concurrent Technologies Corporation, supporting policy analysis for the US federal government. Lynn co-founded the North American Youth Parliament for Water with Laina Timberg and Kate Brown in 2020 and currently serves as the USA Co-President of NAYPW. Her work with NAYPW includes leadership for the Young Professionals Blue Peace Whitepaper Program on the Columbia River Basin, Colorado River Basin, and (in development) Rio Grande Basin, the Youth Act! Blue Peace Toolkit, and the Columbia Youth Forums. She received a Master of Science in Water Resources Policy and Management and a Certificate in Water Conflict Management and Transformation from Oregon State University. She works to support the training, capacity development, and inclusion of community values in water management spaces across North America and in the Middle East, particularly regarding youth and young professional inclusion.
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
Nina Hamilton
Expert in entrepreneurship and innovation
Senior Manager of International Programs, North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
Nina Hamilton is the Senior Manager of International Programs at the North American Association for Environmental Education. She helps facilitate the Global Environmental Education Partnership, a learning network that aims to build global capacity for environmental education. She also leads NAAEE’s global youth leadership initiative, EE 30 Under 30, which works to recognize, connect, and empower young people across the globe who are shaping sustainable communities through education. Nina is particularly passionate about connecting people with the networks and resources they need in order to have their greatest impact. She is based in Durham, North Carolina.
Youth representative
Sean Russell
Youth representative
Associate Director of Youth Engagement and Partnerships, EarthEcho International
For over a decade, Sean Russell has worked with a diverse set of nonprofit organizations, corporations, and government agencies to elevate the role of youth leadership in the ocean conservation field. As EarthEcho International’s Associate Director of Youth Engagement and Partnerships, Sean directs EarthEcho’s global strategy to meaningfully engage youth leaders and diverse partnering organizations to achieve EarthEcho’s mission of building a youth movement that will restore and protect our ocean planet. Over the past two years, he has expanded EarthEcho’s programming to engage youth leaders from 50+ countries, while supporting their work driving OceanEcho 30×30, an initiative mobilizing young people worldwide in advocating for the protection of 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 through education/outreach efforts, coastal habitat restoration projects, and policy engagement. Sean serves on the National Marine Educators Association Board of Directors and as a member of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Community Group, is an advisor to The Ocean Project, and served on the Young Professionals Committee for the fifth International Marine Protected Area Congress.
