Five volunteers. Five countries. Five very different responses to climate risk.

At the IFRC Climate Action Summit on 16 September, five volunteers from across the Red Cross and Red Crescent Network were recognised through the IFRC Climate Adaptation Innovation Awards for ideas and prototypes responding to climate challenges in their communities.

From using Balinese knowledge to strengthen climate adaptation, to drawing on generations of environmental knowledge in Nepal, preparing communities for extreme heat in Italy, connecting early warnings to action in Zimbabwe and monitoring floods in Mozambique, their approaches are as diverse as the contexts in which they were developed.

But they share something important: all five awardees began their journey at the IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Leadership Academy.

Their awards are not the beginning of their innovation journeys. They are a milestone in journeys that started with problems they saw around them — and opportunities to explore what could be done differently.

Here are their stories.

Putu Yunia Andriyani — Indonesia

Most Popular Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation

What if climate adaptation could build on the knowledge and values already rooted in a community — while giving young people a central role in shaping the response?

Putu Yunia Andriyani’s project, Adapting to Protect Bali’s Youth, brings together climate adaptation, disaster education, youth participation and Balinese local wisdom.

At its heart is Tri Hita Karana, a Balinese concept centred on harmony between people and nature. The project explores how local knowledge and values can help communities understand and respond to climate change.

Young people were involved in developing and implementing the project. It also produced Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim Orang Muda di Bali — Climate Change Adaptation for Young People in Bali — a practical resource bringing together climate information, actions young people can take and examples of youth climate action in Bali.

The initiative has brought together government, NGOs, communities and young people, while Instagram, YouTube and other digital platforms have helped extend the conversation. Plans to share the book with schools and institutions across Bali aim to broaden its reach.

The project was recognised as the Most Popular Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation, an award determined through public engagement with the finalists’ videos.

At the Climate Summit, Putu shared how young people and local knowledge can contribute to climate adaptation in Bali.

Akash Maurya — Nepal

Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Idea

For Akash Maurya, the starting point for his innovation was a conversation with his grandfather about landslides.

It prompted Akash to think about the environmental knowledge held by older generations — and how much of it can disappear when it is not passed on.

His idea, First Science — a community intelligence network, connects elders and young volunteers so that observations built up through years of living in a particular environment can contribute to community preparedness.

These observations can include hillside cracks, changes in spring water, leaning trees, unusual sounds from the ground and changing rainfall patterns.

The proposed network would document and map this knowledge using simple tools, discuss observations through community meetings and share information through channels such as WhatsApp groups and community noticeboards.

The idea would begin with a small pilot in one village, bringing together elders and youth volunteers. Over time, Akash envisages a community-owned model that could be adapted by other disaster-prone communities.

The idea was recognised as the Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Idea.

At its core is a different way of thinking about innovation: not necessarily starting by replacing existing knowledge, but by listening to it and finding ways to make it useful for future preparedness.

Ilaria D’Angelo — Italy

Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Idea

In Italy, Ilaria is focusing on a climate risk already affecting communities directly: extreme heat.

Her project, Save Summer, proposes a Red Cross-coordinated prevention plan to protect people during periods of extreme heat, particularly those at greater risk, including older people, children, people living with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, people with disabilities and people who live alone. 

The proposal would bring together municipalities, social services and family doctors to identify people who may need additional support. During critical heat periods, volunteers could check in through phone calls or visits. 

It also proposes cooling points in air-conditioned public buildings such as libraries and civic centres, providing water, a safe environment and trained personnel. An information campaign would offer practical advice on managing heat risks, while a volunteer-managed digital platform would help coordinate interventions and prioritise urgent cases. 

The aim is to strengthen prevention before extreme heat becomes an emergency — reducing health risks while connecting institutions, volunteers and citizens around a coordinated response.

Ilaria’s proposal was recognised as the Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Idea.

Phillip Banda — Zimbabwe

Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Advanced Prototype

A warning only becomes useful when people can receive it, understand it and act on it. Phillip Banda’s Climate Action Hub for Smarter Early Warnings is built around this principle.

The project combines a mobile application with a community-driven approach to provide real-time early-warning messages, climate updates for farming and potential disaster warnings. 

Rather than simply broadcasting information, the platform links warnings to locally relevant actions — including evacuation plans, farming advice such as growing drought-resistant crops in drought-prone areas, and emergency supply distribution. 

The prototype was tested with selected users, with training and feedback informing improvements to the user experience, alert precision and accessibility. Connectivity challenges led to the introduction of customised notifications, SMS and offline alert capabilities. A proposed river-level monitoring system would also provide information for flood-prone communities. 

Community ownership is central to the approach. Trained volunteers help interpret warnings for vulnerable groups, while partnerships with meteorological services, disaster response agencies and local organisations could support sustainability and scale. 

During the pilot, farmers were able to adjust planting schedules based on timely climate warnings, demonstrating how early information can support both disaster preparedness and food security. 

Phillip’s prototype was recognised as the Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Advanced Prototype.

Marcos Feliciano Sate — Mozambique

Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Advanced Prototype

In flood-prone communities, knowing that water levels are rising can provide crucial time to reach safety.

Marcos Feliciano Sate’s Flood Monitoring System combines technology with community preparedness. The system uses ultrasonic Doppler sensors to measure water levels and flow speed, while integrating meteorological data to improve forecasts. 

The project also focuses on making warnings accessible. Sensor positioning and communication channels are refined through testing and community feedback, with different alert methods designed to reach people with disabilities as well. 

The system considers technological, social and environmental sustainability. Its low-cost, low-energy sensors can use renewable power sources such as solar energy. Communities would be trained to interpret alerts and act quickly, while measures such as reforestation and natural drainage can help reduce flood impacts over the longer term. 

A pilot implementation improved flood preparedness by placing sensors in critical areas and providing real-time warnings. Community members were also trained so that knowledge could spread beyond the initial group of volunteers. 

Marcos’s prototype was recognised as the Best Volunteer-led Climate Adaptation Innovation Advanced Prototype.

Its message is simple: know before, save lives.

Where these ideas began

The five awardees did not arrive at the Climate Adaptation Innovation Awards as finished innovators. Their ideas developed through the IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Leadership Academy, a global innovation ecosystem that gives young people and volunteers opportunities to identify challenges, develop ideas, experiment and learn from others.

The journey is designed to help volunteers move from problems to ideas, ideas to action, and prototypes towards stronger and more scalable solutions.

Climate and environmental action has become an important part of that journey.

Through its climate-focused work, the IFRC Solferino Academy has supported young people and volunteers to explore responses to the environmental and climate challenges affecting their communities. This has included ideas addressing disaster preparedness, early warning, food security, environmental protection and community resilience.

One recent Limitless climate and environment challenge brought together more than 7,000 young participants and peer mentors from 142 countries, who developed more than 1,500 projects.

The approach starts with the realities of people’s lives and communities: What is changing where we live, who is most affected, and what could we do differently?

The five awardees offer very different answers.

Five innovations, five approaches to climate adaptation

Putu’s project shows how local culture and youth participation can become part of climate adaptation.

Akash’s idea shows how intergenerational knowledge can contribute to understanding environmental risks.

Ilaria’s proposal focuses on prevention, connecting volunteers and local services before extreme heat becomes an emergency.

Phillip’s prototype looks at how early warnings can lead to practical decisions, rather than simply delivering information.

And Marcos’s system combines sensors, real-time information and inclusive communication to give flood-prone communities more time to respond.

What connects these approaches is their focus on people and the realities of their communities — the knowledge they hold, the risks they face, the networks they rely on and the actions they can take.

That is also what connects the five awardees to the IFRC Limitless Youth Innovation Leadership Academy. Their projects grew from challenges they had identified themselves and from the opportunity to explore how those challenges could be addressed.

The IFRC Climate Adaptation Innovation Awards recognise where those journeys have reached so far. More broadly, they show what can emerge when volunteers have the opportunity to experiment, develop their ideas and turn local observations into practical approaches to climate adaptation.

From a conversation between a young volunteer and his grandfather in Nepal, to young people in Bali drawing on local wisdom; from preparing communities for extreme heat in Italy, to strengthening early warnings in Zimbabwe and developing flood monitoring in Mozambique, these five stories offer different perspectives on a shared challenge.

The ideas may have started locally. Their lessons can travel much further.