23 Jun 2026
The Earthshot Prize, the world’s most prestigious environmental award, in partnership with Brazilian organisation Alana and global youth movement Design for Change, today announced the 15 finalists of the inaugural I CAN Earthshot Challenge. The initiative celebrates young changemakers from across India who are creating practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing their communities.
Marking the biggest youth outreach initiative in The Earthshot Prize’s history, the Challenge has reached close to one million students through more than 15,000 schools across 24 Indian states, alongside an open digital platform accessible nationwide. The initiative invited children aged 9 to 17 to look beyond environmental awareness and take meaningful action, empowering them to become part of the generation driving solutions to repair and restore the planet following the five Earthshots: Protect and Restore Nature, Revive our Oceans, Clean our Air, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix our Climate. Children submitted their ideas between June and October.
From tackling air pollution in classrooms and reducing food spoilage to protecting rivers, conserving water and managing waste, the entries demonstrate how young people are developing practical solutions to environmental challenges in their communities. Innovations range from a low-cost air filter that recorded a reduction in AQI from approximately 160 to 98 during testing, to biodegradable, oil-free diyas designed to reduce pollution in the Godavari River, and a student-led initiative that has collected nearly six tonnes of waste paper for recycling.
The finalists will travel to Mumbai this November to participate in The Children’s Earthshot, a dedicated two-day programme at the Museum of Solutions. The finalists will present their ideas and receive feedback and take part in workshops covering all five Earthshots.
The programme will culminate in The Children’s Earthshot Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 17 November at the Museum of Solutions where the five winning teams, one for each Earthshot category, will be announced. Each winning team will receive a US$2,000 grant to help further develop its solution, expand its reach and create lasting impact within its community.
The I CAN Earthshot Challenge brings together The Earthshot Prize’s global mission to identify, celebrate and back environmental solutions, Alana’s commitment to championing children’s rights and participation, and Design for Change’s approach to empowering young people to create positive change.
With one of the world’s largest youth populations, India has a significant opportunity to harness the creativity and determination of young people to address environmental challenges. It is already home to more Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists than any other country, including 2026 Finalists Mahindra Last Mile Mobility and Mahila Housing Trust.
As the country prepares to host The Earthshot Prize Awards Night and Summit in Mumbai this November, the Challenge puts India’s next generation of environmental innovators in the spotlight, demonstrating how solutions developed in classrooms and local communities can contribute to wider environmental progress.
The extraordinary ingenuity shown by these young finalists demonstrates that the next generation is not waiting for the future to act; it is already building environmental solutions right now. As we prepare to host The Earthshot Prize Awards in Mumbai, these remarkable children remind us that local community action, driven by youthful optimism and determination, is vital to repairing our planet. We can’t wait to celebrate them in Mumbai for our biggest edition yet.
Children have the right to participate in shaping the world they live in, not simply to prepare for the world they will inherit. The young people recognised through this challenge are identifying problems in their own communities, reimagining and transforming their reality through creativity, empathy and collective action. Supporting their efforts means recognising children as citizens and changemakers today, while creating the conditions for their ideas and contributions to be taken seriously.
When children transition from asking ‘Can I?’ to declaring ‘I CAN’, their capacity to transform their surroundings is limitless. Through the Feel, Imagine, Do and Share framework, these finalists have looked deeply at the environmental challenges in their neighbourhoods and taken courageous, practical steps to solve them. They are proving to the world that empathy combined with action creates unstoppable change.
Through Design for Change’s Feel, Imagine, Do and Share (FIDS) framework, participating students worked in teams to identify environmental challenges in their communities, develop creative ideas and put their solutions into action. Their projects addressed issues aligned with The Earthshot Prize’s five goals: Protect and Restore Nature, Revive Our Oceans, Clean Our Air, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.
Following a two-stage evaluation process involving design professionals, educators, youth advocates, and student representatives, 15 finalist teams from across 9 Indian states and Delhi have been shortlisted. The entries were evaluated on their understanding of local challenges, creativity, practical implementation and demonstrated community impact.
Following a two-stage evaluation process involving design professionals, educators, youth advocates, and student representatives, 15 finalist teams from across 9 Indian states and Delhi have been shortlisted. The entries were evaluated on their understanding of local challenges, creativity, practical implementation and demonstrated community impact.
The Earthshot Prize 2026 is coming to Mumbai, India on 16-17 November!
