UN's Champion of the Earth Award

Giving Compass' Take: 

• Joe McCarthy, writing for Global Citizen, lists seven activists that won the UN's Champions of the Earth Award for their work in creating sustainability initiatives that help protect the environment. 

• What are the significant challenges in maintaining these types of environmental efforts? 

• Read about why no ecosystem on earth is safe from climate change. 

Turning diesel emissions into ink. Fostering coral reef farms. Empowering female environmentalists.

These are some of the achievements of the winners of the United Nations’ 2018 Young Champions of the Earth Awards.

A panel of judges working with the UN selected seven young people from around the world for their extraordinary work out of thousands of contenders for this year’s prize. Each winner receives $15,000 to fund their ventures and guidance and support from relevant experts.

“Each of these winners has a unique story to tell. Taken together the message our Young Champions send to the world is even stronger: Together we can innovate the future we want while preserving the environment we need.”

The seven winners include Shady Rabab, an activist who teaches young people how to play musical instruments made from garbage in Luxor, Egypt. His “Garbage Conservatoire” initiative gets young people to clean up the streets of the city, while learning a useful and fun skill in the process.

All together, the Young Champions of the Earth represent an emerging generation of activists who are working to save the planet from the ravages of climate change, overdevelopment, and pollution.