The world is facing big problems with floods and droughts, and young people can help make a difference. There's a special competition where young people can share their ideas on how to deal with these issues. It's called the Global Integrated Flood and Drought Management Competition, and it's run by some big organizations that care about weather and water. They want to hear from young people who have practical solutions to help communities be stronger when it comes to floods and droughts.
This competition is not just about talking about climate change, it's about coming up with real ideas that can help people. They've had winners from places like Nigeria and Uganda before, and now they're looking for new ideas for 2026-27. If you're a young person with a good idea, you can submit it and maybe even get funding to make it happen.
The goal is to help communities be better prepared for floods and droughts, and to make sure they can bounce back if something bad happens. It's a great opportunity for young people to show what they can do and make a real difference in the world. So, if you have an idea that can help with flood or drought resilience, don't be afraid to share it. You could be one of the winners and help create a better future for your community.
Key Details
You've got until August 31, 2026, to get your submission in - that's 23:59 CEST, or 21:59 UTC. There are two prizes up for grabs, each worth 3,000 CHF. If your project is selected, you'll have a maximum of 9 months to get it off the ground, with experts in floods and droughts on hand to guide and support you the whole way. And don't worry if English isn't your first language - you can submit your proposal in either English or Spanish.
Eligibility Requirements
To take part in this competition, you need to be between 18 and 35 years old. This includes students, young professionals, organizations led by young people, teams led by young individuals, and people applying on their own. The key thing here is that young people must be in charge.
When you send in your proposal, you need to show that young people are really running the project - they should be the ones designing it, managing it, and making it happen. Just saying that young people will be involved at some point is not enough. The people reviewing your proposal want to see proof that young people are actually leading the project, making decisions, putting it into action, and keeping track of how it's going.
Every proposal must directly address flood resilience, drought resilience, or both, projects focused only on general climate awareness without tangible resilience outcomes are unlikely to score well, and anything outside this specific thematic focus becomes automatically ineligible.
What a Strong Project Looks Like
Projects need to be practical and results-oriented, with clear objectives, realistic activities, measurable outputs, a defined timeline, and a specific scope, proposals full of ideas but lacking implementation detail tend to read as too abstract.
The contribution to resilience needs to be tangible: examples include restored wetlands, flood warning systems, community adaptation plans, rainwater harvesting systems, drought-resistant farming plots, or resilience training programs, real, visible outcomes rather than abstract awareness-raising.
When it comes to projects, they need to be completed within 9 months. This means they're looking for ideas that are straightforward, easy to manage, and can be finished quickly, rather than big, long-term plans that take years to come to fruition. They also want to know that these projects can be scaled up and sustained over time. Can another community take this model and make it work for themselves? And what happens after the project is officially over - will the benefits still be felt, thanks to things like local people taking ownership, volunteers who've been trained, systems in place for maintenance, or ways to generate income?
These are two important questions that need to be answered separately, rather than being treated as one and the same. A strong proposal will address both scalability and sustainability, showing how the project can be replicated and how its benefits will continue to be felt long after the funding has ended.
Innovation is also important, and it's not just about using the latest technology. The guidelines actually suggest that innovation can take many forms, such as bringing together Indigenous knowledge and scientific approaches, creating new ways to engage with communities, finding low-cost ways to adapt to challenges, or making sure women are strongly involved in the process. These are all valid ways to innovate and make a positive impact.
What Strengthens an Application (Priority Areas)
Having a few key factors in place can really make a project stand out and boost its chances of success. For instance, projects that are carried out in countries that are still developing or in small island nations tend to get special consideration. This is especially true for many African countries, like Sierra Leone, which are classified as Least Developed Countries. This gives African projects a bit of a head start.
Additionally, projects that focus on helping vulnerable groups, such as those in rural areas, women, people with disabilities, households affected by climate change, or young people who are marginalized, are also viewed more favorably. These factors can make a real difference in how competitive a project is.
When they talk about making a real difference, it's not just about adding women to a project, it's about actually changing the way things are done to make sure everyone is treated fairly. This means looking at the rules and norms that aren't fair and working to change them, so women can really take on leadership roles.
It's also about working with nature to find solutions, like restoring mangroves, protecting watersheds, planting more trees, or conserving wetlands. And it's not just about using modern science, but also about listening to and learning from the knowledge of Indigenous communities, like their traditional ways of predicting floods or conserving water.
What's more, smaller projects that happen at the community level are often preferred over big, expensive ones that might not really help the people who need it most.
What Leads to Automatic Disqualification
When it comes to getting a proposal approved, there are a few things that can get it rejected right away. For example, if the proposal doesn't have a clear connection to flood or drought resilience, it's likely to be turned down.
Also, if the goals are too vague or don't have a realistic plan for how to achieve them, that's a problem. And if it's not clear that young people are actually leading the project, that's another issue.
One thing to watch out for is that proposals that seem like they were written by a computer without any specific details about the project are at risk of being rejected. This doesn't mean you can't use tools to help with writing, but the final proposal needs to show that it's tailored to the local community and has concrete plans for how to make it happen.
Application Process
- Make sure to carefully read the official submission guidelines, which are available to view in both English and Spanish.
- Confirm your project directly addresses flood and/or drought resilience specifically
- Ensure genuine youth leadership is clearly demonstrated throughout the proposal, not just youth participation
- To submit your project, please fill out the form in either English or Spanish, keeping in mind that only one submission is permitted per project and it must be in a single language.
- Submit before 31 August 2026, 23:59 CEST
Major Considerations
It's really important to know the difference between sustainability and scalability, rather than using them as if they mean the same thing. When they talk about sustainability, they're asking if a project will still be beneficial after the funding runs out. On the other hand, scalability is about whether the project's model can be expanded or replicated in other places.
A good proposal should look at these two questions separately and give separate answers. This way, they can be sure that the project will not only keep going after the initial funding is gone but also has the potential to grow and be used in other contexts.
Given the emphasis on avoiding generic, AI-flavored proposals, applicants should focus heavily on concrete local detail, specific communities, specific existing conditions, specific partnerships already in motion, rather than broad statements about climate vulnerability that could describe almost anywhere.
The 9-month cap also means ambition needs to be calibrated realistically, a genuinely achievable pilot with measurable results will likely score better than an overly ambitious vision that can't realistically be completed in that window.
Should You Apply?
This opportunity is perfect for young Africans, aged 18-35, who have a real passion for creating change in their communities. If you're from a country like Sierra Leone, which is still developing, and you have a great idea for helping your community deal with floods or droughts, then this is for you.
They're looking for ideas that are rooted in the community, and that can actually be achieved - not just some vague plan. It's also really important that your idea incorporates traditional knowledge, or uses nature to find solutions, or challenges the status quo when it comes to gender roles.
What they're not looking for are campaigns that just raise awareness about climate change, but don't actually do anything to help communities become more resilient. They also want to see young people taking the lead on these projects, not just being involved as an afterthought.
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