Fully Funded Fellowship Training Program on Water Projects 2018

The Young Water Solutions invites young leaders from low and middle income countries who wish to implement projects that tackle water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), water pollution and water scarcity issues to participate in an intensive Young Water Fellowship training program for 2018. Each year, this program brings about 10 young community leaders capable of successfully designing and implementing sustainable and inclusive water initiatives that significantly improve living conditions in their communities. The fellowship will focus on social entrepreneurship with young people who have social business ideas or projects that can be turned into social businesses that address water-related issues.

Applicants must:

[1] Be 18 to 30 years old at the time of the application

[2] Be founders or co-founders of an initiative that contributes to the solution of a well-defined water problem in their country. The initiative should be in its initial stages and have the ability to be turned into a social enterprise (i.e have a long-term sustainability component or business model)

[3] Be from a low or middle income country

[4] Have a valid passport and be available to attend a workshop in Europe from August 13 to September 14, 2018 (note that these dates might be subject to change)

[5] Submit their application individually because only one person is going to attend the training. However, they can prepare the project as a team and then choose one person to submit the application  

[6] Be able to communicate in English (intermediate level at least)

The proposed initiatives should directly contribute to solving at least one of the following issues:

[1] Lack of safe drinking water supply

[2] Lack of adequate sanitation facilities and lack of hygiene

[3] Water pollution

[4] Water scarcity

[5] Solid waste management

[6] Wastewater management

[7] Other water management issues

All training costs are covered by the organization (flights, transportation in Europe, accommodation, meals), but fellows must cover their visa expenses and transport costs to the closest international airport in their country of residency. Fellows will be trained by experts in project management, business, water and gender and many other topics. They will also receive mentorship according to their needs in addition to a funding up to €5,000 for their initiatives.

Young Water Solutions is an international nonprofit organization that aims to develop and support the potential of young people to contribute to universal water, sanitation, hygiene and water resources management. The organization does so by empowering young leaders and providing them with the tools to carry out water projects in their communities. Through projects, it often addresses interlinked challenges such as climate change adaptation, reforestation, youth unemployment and food security.