Cairo – October 4, 2026
The Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) honored the winners of the inaugural CEDARE Environmental Innovation Award 2026 and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize – Egypt 2026 on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The event also celebrated the achievement of Egyptian student Basmala Reda Diab, who won the People’s Choice Award at the international finals of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2026.
The ceremony was attended by H.E. Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Environment; H.E. Mr. Dag Juhlin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Arab Republic of Egypt; and H.E. Mr. Naji Al-Naji, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the State of Palestine. Also in attendance were Dr. Obada Sarhan, representative of the Association of Arab Universities; representatives of educational, academic, and research institutions; members of the two award juries; and a number of experts and partners.
Prof. Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Executive Director of CEDARE and former Minister of Environment, emphasized that the ceremony serves as a platform to celebrate excellence and youth innovation and to highlight the ability of students and young people to develop scientific and practical solutions to environmental and water-related challenges. He stressed that honoring young innovators does not mark the end of their journey, but rather the beginning of a new path that enables them to further develop their ideas and move from innovation to practical implementation.
He highlighted the importance of continued cooperation with universities, research institutions, and partners to provide opportunities that help young people develop their projects and enhance their environmental and developmental impact. He also emphasized the importance of creating greater opportunities for young innovators to connect with experts, institutions, and partners, thereby helping transform ideas and innovations into practical and sustainable solutions that serve communities in Egypt and the Arab region.
Dr. Khaled Fahmy emphasized CEDARE’s commitment to investing in youth capabilities and creating ongoing opportunities for young people to learn, develop, and engage in scientific and environmental dialogue at both regional and international levels. He noted that supporting new generations of innovators is a cornerstone of CEDARE’s efforts to advance sustainable development in the region.
He concluded by stressing the importance of the event as a catalyst for further creativity and achievement and expressed hope that young people’s innovations would find their way into practical application, contributing to a more sustainable future for Egypt and the Arab region.
CEDARE Environmental Innovation Award 2026 – First Edition
The first edition of the CEDARE Environmental Innovation Award 2026 focused on four key themes: climate and nature; the circular economy; water and food security; and sustainable energy and urban resilience.
The inaugural edition saw the participation of 237 projects from 15 Arab countries, reflecting the diversity of youth-led ideas and initiatives, as well as students’ interest in developing innovative solutions to the environmental and development challenges facing the Arab region.
CEDARE Environmental Innovation Award 2026 Jury
The projects were evaluated by a panel of distinguished Arab and international academic and professional experts comprising Prof. Dr. Asma Ali Abahussain, University of Bahrain; Prof. Dr. Nasser Sulaiman Al-Omari, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia; Dr. Sherine Nabil Abu Ghazaleh, representative of the Association of Arab Universities and faculty member at Amman Arab University, Jordan; and Dr. Saber Osman, Assistant to the Minister of Local Development and Environment for Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Egypt.
The jury also included Dr. Mahmoud Fathallah, Director of the Environment and Meteorology Department and Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment at the League of Arab States; Prof. Dr. Hesham El-Askary, Professor of Remote Sensing and Earth Systems Science at Chapman University; Eng. Ahmed Abou El-Saoud, Environmental Expert and Consultant at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and Dr. Omar El-Badawy, Expert in Water Resources, Land, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at CEDARE.
The projects were evaluated according to a set of criteria, including innovation, feasibility, environmental impact, and potential for implementation and scaling.
The competition resulted in four outstanding winning projects from Palestine and Egypt, as follows:
First Place – Palestine: Anas Yousef Mohammed Al-Ashqar from Al-Azhar University – Gaza won for the “NaqaaSync” project.
Second Place – Egypt: A team from Menoufia University comprising Fathy Ayman Fathy Hajar, Mostafa Mosaad Ali Abu Al-Nasr, and Gaber Tamer Gaber Afifi won for the “Build Replast” project.
Third Place – Egypt: A team comprising Nada Reda Abdel-Aati from the Egyptian Chinese University, Habiba Khaled Ali from the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, and Rouida Sayed Taha from Nile University won for the “Smart Scout” project.
Joint Third Place – Egypt: Hassan El-Sayed Abdel-Latif and Abdullah Ahmed Khalil from New Mansoura University won for a project that converts electronic waste into a high-precision medical stethoscope for monitoring heart sounds using adaptive signal processing.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize – Egypt 2026
CEDARE organizes the national edition of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize in Egypt in partnership with the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Now in its second consecutive year, the initiative aims to encourage school students to develop scientific solutions to challenges related to water and sustainability.
This year’s Egyptian edition saw the participation of 110 projects, which were evaluated by a national jury comprising experts, academics, and specialists in the fields of water, engineering, and the environment.
National Jury for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize – Egypt 2026
The national jury comprised H.E. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty, Regional Advisor for Water Resources Management at CEDARE and former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Prof. Dr. Ahmed Gaber, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Cairo University and Chairman of Chemonics Egypt; Prof. Dr. Sherine Shawky, Professor at the Nile Research Institute, National Water Research Center; Eng. Ahmed Abou El-Saoud, former CEO of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and Senior Expert in Water Resources and Environmental Management; and Dr. Mohamed Khaled, Assistant Professor and Head of the Civil Engineering Department at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Badr University in Cairo, and Environmental Expert at Chemonics Egypt.
The jury selected Basmala Reda Diab as the first-place winner of the national competition to represent Egypt at the international finals. Her project focuses on developing microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment and energy production, using activated carbon derived from agricultural waste alongside nanomaterials derived from tea leaves.
Basmala achieved international recognition for Egypt by winning the People’s Choice Award at the international finals of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2026 in Stockholm. This achievement highlights the ability of Egyptian youth to compete at the international level and develop scientific innovations that contribute to addressing water and sustainability challenges.
