The National level competition of Bangladesh Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2023

The final round of the 9th season of the ‘Bangladesh Stockholm Junior Water Prize-2023’ took place on May 19, 2023, at the International Training Network Centre (ITN), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The main theme of this round was ‘Inspring today’s student, inspiring tomorrow’s water,’ emphasizing the importance of connecting water development activities with the current youth.
For the final round, eight teams were selected from all over the country. A jury board was formed for the evaluation and discussion of the competition. The esteemed members of this panel included Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, Director of ITN, BUET, and Professor of Civil Engineering, BUET; Maria Stridsman, Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Mostafizur Rahman, Programme Officer, Development Cooperation Section, Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Md. Tahmidul Islam, Technical Lead, WaterAid Bangladesh; Dr. Sonia Binte Murshed, Associate Professor, Institute of Water and Flood Management, BUET; Dr. Badal Mahaldar, Associate Professor, Department of Water Resource Engineering, BUET; Dr. Sara Nowreen Associate Professor Institute of Water & Flood Management (IWFM) Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET). The presence of these esteemed guests provided extensive encouragement to the participating students at the event.
The selected teams presented their visual posters during the final round and spontaneously participated in the pitching round. The round was remarkable with the vibrant presence of so many young minds. Jury member Dr. Tanvir Ahmed expressed his remarks about the competitors, saying, “Students in this competition apply science-oriented thinking to solve water problems and inspire others.” Maria Stridsman, head of cooperation at the embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, further elaborated on the event, stating,”I am impressed by the knowledge and innovative spirit of the participants. Hopefully this competition will be expanded all over Bangladesh.”
Since the inauguration of the competition in November last year, a total of 174 teams were registered whose members aged between 15-20. After apt evaluation and screening, 8 project papers were selected for the final stage out of 27 submitted ones. The primary objective of the competition was the expression of the consciousness of the young generation, and achieving tangible results in this regard. The winners of this notable competition will have the opportunity to participate in the “Stockholm Junior Water Prize” held in Stockholm, Sweden in August, representing Bangladesh among 40 other countries.
The final competition concluded successfully with the enthusiastic participation of esteemed judges, participating students, parents, volunteers, and spectators. “House of Volunteers Bangladesh ” served as the main organizing body for the competition, while WaterAid Bangladesh acted as the co organizer. BUET-ITN and UNICEF were technical partners, and respectively, ES-TEX, MIYAKI, and bdnews24.com were technological and media partners.

Contributor: Faria Omar Tithi
Contact: Afik Hasan (Executive Officer, HOV)
Mobile: 01675-451650
Email ID: afikhasan9@gmail.com