Mohamed Salam’s sandoponic gardens produce food locally for the residents of the Smara refugee camp … More
Courtesy The World Around
June 5th is World Environment Day. As people around the world work together to address the challenges our planet faces, climate entrepreneurs are an integral part of the all-hands-on-deck fight against the climate crisis. Often, this starts locally, especially in the global south where extreme weather events and ecological disruption are already having devastating effects. Young people are taking matters into their own hands, and they can be found in unexpected places, if you look hard enough.
One such leader working to address climate change in his community is artist and designer Mohamed Salam, a 23-year-old Sahrawi who has lived in Algeria’s Smara camp his whole life. Since the village flooded in 2015, he has been working to develop a nomadic sandoponic farming system uses fish and animal waste to add nutrients to the water for the plants, providing food in a difficult desert landscape.
Salem was one of four recipients of the “Young Climate Prize,” a biannual award given by the global design non-profit The World Around, led by curator Beatrice Galilee. The winners presented their work at The World Around Summit 2025 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art at the end of Earth Week 2025. The YCP awardees were chosen by an international jury and will be paired with a mentor who will guide them and introduce them to vast global networks of curators, artists, and leaders in their respective areas of interest.
This is the second cohort of young people working to address climate change in their communities. In 2023, a group of 25 included artists, designers, inventors, and other innovators working around the globe.
Meet the Climate Entrepreneurs
The winners and finalists use the Young Climate Prize community to organize themselves and acclerate their projects. Joining Salem in the 2025 winners circle is Bolivian activist Dayana Blanco Quiroga for a conservation initiative restoring wetlands around Uru Uru Lake in her hometown. Using indigenous knowledge inherited from her Aymara ancestors, she and her team have been working to repair the landscape after mining operations polluted the lake and displaced the local flamingo population.
An “eco-desk” made from marine plastic waste, produced by Twende Green Ecocycle.
Twende Green Ecocycle
The finalists also show promising new tools for helping the environment. Nigerian designer Blossom Eromosele has created solar-powered housing made from recycled tarpaulin and aluminum. Produced for just $120, these modular homes can be used to house refugees. Lawrence Kosgei of Kenya is tackling plastic pollution by turning marine waste into school furniture such as desks for local students. His enterprise Twende Green Ecocycle increases education access and creates jobs for local youth.
Climate Entrepreneurs and Impact
The Young Climate Prize projects may seem like a drop in the ocean that is the global climate crisis. However, Henk Ovink, UN Water Commissioner and Young Climate Prize mentor, sees these types of language and arts projects as potential catalysts.
Ovink views the climate crisis as an all-hands-on-deck problem with no silver-bullet solution. “Climate action is a business opportunity to invest in new circular technologies, renewable resources. How can you empower the private sector to move with language and words?” he said. “These small scale examples can lead to policy regulations and new finance mechanisms with the right backing.”
YCP’s goal is to feature some of the brightest young minds in the world. Young Climate Prize not only highlights their potential and their admirable work, but it also connects them with like-minded people who will help transform their ideas into big, impactful, scalable projects.
To see more climate entrepreneurs, a complete list of winners, and details about their initiatives, visit the Young Climate Prize website.