Urban Water Challenge, 10th November 2018
The most effective solution to a problem is usually the simplest one. The Urban Water Challenge, in collaboration with The Optimist Citizen, in association with Global Changemakers and Ashoka Youth Ventures was conceived with this very idea in mind. We often underestimate the power of simplicity when it comes to big problems.
Yet simplicity permeates all effective solutions, and we trusted none other than school students with this responsibility, for it is these fertile minds who dare to think and question.
UWC was designed as a platform for these young thinkers to come up with feasible, innovative and efficient solutions to solve the Bengaluru water crisis. According to a study conducted in 2016 by IISc, the Silicon City has lost nearly 79% of its water bodies due to excessive industrialisation.
The students were asked to come up with feasible solutions to this
problem, which could potentially be implemented within their school
campus. UWC was a month long event, with registrations starting in mid
October and the finals held on 10th of November, 2018.
The solutions could cover 3 aspects which are generally present in all solutions given for a place suffering from water crisis. These 3 aspects include behaviour changes which can be brought about using awareness and sensitization towards the problem, simple hacks and infrastructure changes.
The event was organised at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru, in the presence of mentors from Why Waste? to help the finalists. The event was made interactive with ice breaker games, some fun and frolic, and lots of brainstorming. The story doesn’t end here, though. The finalists with the best ideas were given a lot of encouragement about their solutions.
We also plan to collaborate with these vibrant, young changemakers to build upon their ideas and bring about the change they envisioned.
For we at Why Waste believe that age is just a number, when you
have the fire in you to be the change you envision.
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