On the second day of Cairo Water Week (held from October 12–16), Egypt and the Netherlands officially celebrated 50 years of cooperation in the water sector.
To mark this milestone, Partners for Water (RVO), in collaboration with Wavemakers United and Wave of Egypt, proudly launched the ‘Young Champion Challenge 2025′!
Moustafa Abdallah, Project Manager at Wave Egypt, presented the kick-off of the challenge and highlighting its goal: to foster cross-sectoral collaboration between Dutch and Egyptian students to tackle local water challenges.
Tilly Stroo, founder of Wavemakers United, delivered an inspiring introduction about the organization’s mission and the importance of continued investment in youth participation and international collaboration for a sustainable future.
The new challenge is a great follow up the Young Water Inventors Competition at the Cairo water week, where Tilly got the honour to select the winning students (age 15-19).
The celebration concluded with the signing of a renewed (MoU) on water cooperation between the Netherlands and Egypt by Eva Witteman, Deputy Head of Mission Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Sherif Mohamady El Sayed, witnessed by Meike van Ginneken, Dutch Water Envoy, and Prof. Dr. Hani Sewilam, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation.
About the Challenge:
The Challenge invites students and young innovators from Egypt and the Netherlands to design climate-smart, cross-sectoral solutions in the areas o water, energy food, climate and AI.
Selected participants will take part in an exciting program that includes:
– Awareness campaigns
– Expert-led masterclasses
– Innovation sprints
– An international bootcamp
The challenge will culminate in a final pitch at Cairo Water Week 2026, with a chance to represent at the UN Water Conference 2026 in the UAE!
Read more and register through the link: Young Champion Challenge 2025 – Wavemakers United
*Eligibility:
Aged between 14–24 years
Must be based in Egypt or the Netherlands
Join Our New Challenge!
