Meet the 10 Final Awardees of the IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Academy
Over 7,000 youth participants and peer mentors from 142 countries participated, collectively developing more than 1,500 innovative projects that impacted over 1.9 million people.
We are deeply moved by the passion, creativity, and commitment demonstrated by these young changemakers. Their ability to envision and implement meaningful solutions is truly inspiring and gives us immense hope for a more resilient and sustainable future. Now more than ever, we must prioritize creating safe, empowering, and inclusive spaces for youth, enabling their meaningful participation and the application of their unique talents to address critical climate and environmental challenges.
We are delighted to announce the 10 Final Awardees of the IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Academy — Climate and Environmental Challenge, who will receive additional funding to scale and implement their projects:
Final Awardees – Limitless 2.0: Climate & Environmental Challenge
Final awardees will receive 7,000 CHF to make a 4-month implementation of their project.
| Name | Description | Why it’s innovative |
|---|---|---|
| Mathew Cedeño Avellán — Ecuadorian Red Cross | Transforming banana waste into sustainable vegan protein, promoting circular economy and food security. | It merges sustainability, food tech science, and waste valorisation in a way that creates both economic and environmental impact. |
| Nianhua Liu — Red Cross Society of China | Tackling climate misinformation with AI-driven solutions to support effective local climate action. | Its approach stands out for using AI not as an end, but as a tool to democratise climate knowledge and strengthen local resilience. |
| Nandom Mampak Gideon — Nigerian Red Cross | Empowering rural women through affordable biogas digesters that convert waste into clean cooking energy. | It creatively links gender empowerment, clean energy, and waste management — solving multiple systemic issues with one integrated solution. |
| Anikonda Mwanza — Zambia Red Cross Society | Precision irrigation, water harvesting, and renewable energy to sustainably manage severe drought. | It takes a systems-thinking approach to drought, combining traditional agricultural challenges with modern tech and community mobilization. |
| Ichor Joshua — Nigerian Red Cross | Innovative real-time water monitoring system using IoT and AI to address water scarcity and contamination. | It translates advanced technology into actionable insights that improve water governance, transparency, and community resilience. |
| Setayesh Halimi Mofrad — Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran | Reducing environmental harm through innovative electronic waste recycling. | It is first of its kind in that region of the country, this initiative breaks new ground by enabling circularity in a neglected waste stream — transforming an environmental challenge into a replicable, resource-based solution and setting a precedent for localized innovation. |
| Anna Bilous — Ukrainian Red Cross Society | Educational game addressing environmentally sustainable reconstruction | It is innovative for using experiential learning to navigate the complexities of environmental sustainability in active conflict settings — opening space for reflection, dialogue, and reconstruction through an engaging, accessible format. |
| Sanzida Siddika Shawon — Bangladesh Red Crescent Society | Affordable rainwater recharging system to address groundwater scarcity sustainably. | Innovative not for inventing something new, but for brilliantly adapting an existing idea — making it ultra-low-cost, locally sourced, and strengthened with indigenous knowledge to ensure accessibility and impact in resource-limited settings. |
| Amani Bahiga — Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Mobile app facilitating efficient waste disposal. | It lies in using digital tools to create real-world behavioral change around waste — bridging tech innovation and community engagement. |
| Muhammad Faqih Almadhani — Indonesian Red Cross Society | Converting durian waste to low-cost mosquito repellent. | It is a fresh take on both environmental and public health challenges — turning a local waste product into a nature-based, low-cost public good. |
Honorable Mentions
Highly commended projects will receive 1,000 CHF to refine their innovation.
These additional projects showed exceptional promise and creativity:
IFRC Limitless Peace Youth Innovation Academy
Agents of
Launching late 2025
What is Limitless Peace?
About IFRC Limitless Academy: The IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Academy is designed to be a safe learning place for Red Cross and Red Crescent collaborators to learn about innovation approaches, meet and engage other innovators, and test new ideas with funding and mentoring support. It is open to all youth volunteers and staff, community members and partners (18-30 years old) who want to make a difference in their communities by learning about innovation, and not only those with fully formed ideas and projects.
