UG and Wetterskip Fryslân put young people to the test with climate adaptation prize

Our climate is changing and not enough has yet been done to prevent a rise in temperature. Humanity must adjust to the consequences of climate change, through climate adaptation. The University of Groningen’s Campus Fryslân and Frisian water board Wetterskip Fryslân are putting young people to the test: to imagine what a Dutch climate-resistant society would look like, in the hopes of winning the Citizen Climate Adaptation Award. There are two award categories: ‘The climate-resistant city’, for all young people across the country aged 15 to 18, and ‘Building a climate-proof Netherlands’, for those aged 19 to 24.

Assignments

Young people participating in the climate-resistant city category are invited to find solutions to two problems: heat stress and flooding in cities. To this end, they can write a proposal, make a video, set up a survey or come up with another creative solution. Participants of the other category, who will be imagining what a climate-proof Netherlands would look like in the year 2100, may provide solutions in all sorts of ways.

Award ceremony

The winners of the Citizen Climate Adaptation Award will be presented with prize money in Leeuwarden on Saturday 23 January 2021. The jury will first announce which three candidates per category were ranked highest by the jury. They will then be invited to briefly present their project ideas before the award ceremony. On the day of the ceremony itself, multiple activities will take place in the run-up to the Climate Adaptation Summit, including a visit by Ban Ki-moon to the UG/Campus Fryslân in honour of the new Advanced Certificate Course in Climate Adaptation Governance.

About the award

The Citizen Climate Adaptation Award, organized by Frisian water board Wetterskip Fryslân and the UG/Campus Fryslân, honours the work of former water board chair Paul van Erkelens. It is a citizen science award that will be presented every two years, as from 2021, to young people aged 15 to 24 who generate innovative ideas regarding climate adaptation. The goal of the Citizen Climate Adaptation Award is to create awareness around the theme of climate adaptation and to encourage young people to conduct research into the solutions. Budding participants can sign up by completing a participation form, via rug.nl/cf/klimaatadaptatieprijs, before 10 December 2020.