NextWave: A Youth Climate Data Challenge

The United Nations Population Fund Caribbean Sub-Regional Office (SROC) is proud to launch NextWave: A Youth Climate Data Innovation Challenge - a new regional initiative empowering young people to turn climate data into practical solutions that strengthen inclusive resilience across the Caribbean. A region full of potential Caribbean Small Island Developing States are navigating an increasingly complex climate landscape, with more frequent hurricanes, flooding, heatwaves, and coastal changes shaping everyday life. Across the region, communities continue to adapt with resilience, innovation, and local knowledge. At the same time, climate action is most effective when it reflects the diverse realities of people’s lives. Factors such as age, gender, health, and access to services all influence how individuals experience climate impacts, and how they are able to respond and recover. By strengthening how data captures and reflects these realities, there is a powerful opportunity to design more responsive, inclusive, and effective climate solutions. Why NextWave matters NextWave builds on this opportunity. The challenge supports Caribbean youth to explore how data can be used in new and meaningful ways, transforming information into tools that help communities, institutions, and decision-makers better understand climate risks and strengthen resilience. By connecting climate data with insights on communities, health, and social dynamics, youth participants will contribute to solutions that are not only technically strong, but grounded in real-world contexts. This is more than a competition, it is a structured innovation programme that supports young people to move from ideas to practical, well-designed solutions. What participants will do Participants will work individually or in teams to design small-scale, data-driven innovations using existing or publicly available data. These solutions are intended to demonstrate how data can be used to strengthen decision-making and improve climate resilience planning. Examples of solutions include: Climate risk and community vulnerability maps Data dashboards and visualisation tools Service access maps (e.g. health, support services, shelters) Policy briefs and advocacy tools Community resilience scorecards All projects are designed to: Use existing or accessible data sources Generate clear, actionable insights Demonstrate how tools could be applied in real-world contexts Be feasible within a small-scale design framework Highlight any data gaps Who can apply The challenge is open to: Youth aged 15–25 Youth aged 15–17 must apply through a youth group or school and submit parental/guardian consent Eligible countries include:  Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago Individuals OR teams (up to 5 members) Teams must designate a Team Lead at application stage Commit to attending 4 core training sessions Applicants are encouraged to have an interest in: Climate action Data or research Community development Gender equality and social inclusion NextWave actively encourages participation from diverse groups, including young women, LGBTQI+ youth, youth with disabilities, and those from underserved communities. What participants will receive Participants will gain access to a supportive innovation environment, including: Expert-led training on climate, data, and solution design Mentorship and technical guidance Opportunities for regional exposure, visibility and networking USD $3,000 in seed funding for three selected teams Support to further refine and develop their solutions Timeline Applications open: May 2026 Training phase: June 2026 Innovation development: June - July 2026 Virtual pitch event: July 2026 Post-selection refinement phase: August - October 2026 Shaping resilient futures together NextWave is a youth-led, youth-focused initiative and is a platform for collaboration, creativity, and forward-thinking innovation. By supporting youth to work with data in new ways, the initiative aims to strengthen how climate resilience is understood and designed across the Caribbean, ensuring that future solutions are inclusive, informed, and grounded in people’s lived realities, including the most vulnerable populations.   Apply by May 31 For information videos look here: https://www.instagram.com/unfpacaribbean?igsh=MTBoYXA4Y3FwZ3B6YQ==