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The Indonesian Green Action Forum (IGAF) is a national ecological platform which engages children, youths, and local communities to take actions for sustainable environment. This platform has engaged more than 3000 Indonesia people (children, youths, and local communities) for actualizing ecological initiatives into actions. This platform has executed more than 60 kinds of eco-projects financed by the United Nations agencies, and now is progressing on water and sanitation issues.

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The Water Youth Network (WYN) and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), with support from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), FM Global, and NASA, organised the Interdisciplinary Pressure Cooker Event on Risk Communication during the 2018 Understanding Risk Forum in Mexico City on May 14th and 15th, 2018. Thirty-five young professionals and researchers, representing 13 countries and a range of disciplines, came together at this event to address risk communication challenges in the Mexican municipalities of Iztapalapa in Mexico City and Dzilam de Bravo in Yucatán. The challenges were prepared collaboratively by the organisers, local-level stakeholders, Mexican-based researchers, and a team of mentors composed of different topic-specific specialists. The event aimed to build the capacity of these young professionals and researchers to work across disciplines and co-develop innovative risk communication solutions.

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We have worked on community approaches to survey the vast Argentine territory. Understanding each place, its culture, its language and work in an articulated way with local references to reach each corner. Providing solutions and tools to leave sustainable answers and transform the quality of life of entire communities. Today, together with Proyecto Agua Segura, we managed to materialize everything that I wanted so much, reaching more than 70,000 children in rural areas. Our interventions take place mostly in schools and community centers, where most of our direct beneficiaries are children from 3 to 12 years old. Also, women have strong participation in our educational exchanges learning new healthy habits and becoming active change agents in their families and communities.

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Small Island Developing States such as the British Virgin Islands face a challenge to secure sufficient fresh water supplies due to a limited number of fresh water sources, which are under increasing pressure due to climate change. By harnessing the infinite supply of resources from the sea, sun and earth, Elemental Water Makers developed an off-grid, solar-powered desalination solution that offers a sustainable and affordable drinking water supply for a private property on the British Virgin Islands. Where water quality was previously unreliable and quantity was irregular due to power outages, the property now produces water using 100% renewable energy (gravity and solar power) and adopts energy recovery principles, making it completely self-reliant. This desalination solution has lead to a cost reduction of 63% and prevents production of 25 tons of CO2 per year, all while producing 12.5 m3 of high-quality drinking water per day, both during the day and night time. Moreover, marine pollution is minimized as brine water discharge is only slightly more salty (6%) than the surrounding sea water, thereby mitigating ecological damage.

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Fresh water is a prerequisite for sustainable development anywhere across the globe, making it a fundamental challenge that deserves global attention. While certain regions are fortunate to enjoy considerable time before current freshwater resources become scarce, other geographies such as remote coastal regions and SIDS are on the verge of critical levels of freshwater scarcity, limiting viability of livelihoods, let alone sustainable (economic) development. For the population of La Union, Luzon in the Philippines, the above challenges were significantly mitigated due to an innovative, renewables driven, decentralized solar desalination solutions provided by Elemental Water Makers and a local partner. The rural population, previously dependent on unsustainable and expensive ($6/m3) water sources of questionable quality, are now able to access high-quality drinking water at highly market-competitive rate of (1.3$/m3) while also reducing CO2 emission by 43%, equivalent to savings 11 tons of CO2/year. Apart from mitigating the direct pressure on fresh water resources, additional benefits arose out of the fact local populace took ownership of a water kiosk. The water kiosk is a symbol for the newly gained economic and ecological resilience, which was acquired through independent economic exploitation of a water kiosk, offering opportunities related to economic development and consequently that of self-development, especially for women and children. Through close collaboration with a local partner organization, local ownership was fostered, project implementation was done according to local governance and compliances, access to local resources was facilitated and ultimately operation and management remains in hands of the local population. The above impacts have made the water kiosk project a success, provides evidence for the promise and potential of renewable decentralized desalination solutions for remote/rural communities and provides inspiration for future ‘glocal’ partnerships promoting freshwater resources.

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Gladden Island is one of the world's most private islands and is situated in the Caribbean. This private get-away implemented an efficient desalination solution based on reverse osmosis. This solution was installed to guarantee a fresh water supply in the dry periods during which the existing desalination and rain catchment systems proved insufficient. By integrating an innovative energy recovery device that re-uses the pressure remaining in the brine effluent of the reverse osmosis process, this fresh water solution produces 5 m3 fresh water per day while using only 17.5 kWh. As a result this water supply mitigates 10 tonnes of CO2/year in comparison to the former water solution.

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Already today, two thirds of the world population face water shortages. This means 4 billion people that are affected by the shortage of water. As a result of increasing fresh water scarcity and the limited availability and negative consequences of fossil fuels, Elemental Water Makers was founded in 2012 as a spin-off of the University of Technology Delft in the Netherlands. The company develops solutions to ensure fresh water today without limiting tomorrow by desalinating sea water using solar energy. Elemental Water Makers is determined to solve fresh water scarcity, using only the sea, sun, earth & wind With technological proof, Elemental Water Makers has searched for regions and beneficiaries which could gain most from this solution. Regions relying on desalination with high electricity prices or currently lacking access to sustainable fresh water resources were identified as potential beneficiaries. This boiled down to rural coastal regions and islands, specifically small island developing states (SIDs). Potential end-users of the system are communities, municipalities, resorts and private islands. Elemental Water Makers has successfully designed and installed 10+ fresh water solutions across 7 different countries due to the efforts of its team (3 full time employees). In 2017, the company received the 1st prize of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award, out of 138 organizations active in the field of desalination. Do you know coastal locations that face droughts and water scarcity? Join us in solving fresh water scarcity, using only the sea, sun, earth & wind.

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The WASH Club is a youth club in Ghana, Cape Coast to be precise which provides voluntary services in the Water and Sanitation sector to public in the country. The club was started in 2016 and is made up of a team of talented and motivated students who work towards the betterment and the improvement of livelihoods of the populace.

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The WASH4Shools project is intended to educate students in the basic schools, Junior and Senior high schools on the proper management of water, good sanitation and hygiene practices. This is to increase their knowledge in WASH and to help prevent WASH-related diseases to promote development. Good hygiene practices is vital to a healthy life style

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The Wash and Technologies working group within the water youth network has, for the past 6 months, been focused on capacity building as their main activity. As part of this, the group strives to hold monthly webinars on topics which are of interest to group members. The webinars are open to anyone and are published externally on Water Youth Network communication channels (website, facebook etc).