South Africa is making its mark on international water conservation issues and models that are designed by the youth.

Sixteen-year-old Driaan Lou-Kemp will soon arrive in Stockholm, Sweden, to represent the country at the annual Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition. He will compete against students from 90 countries who will all vie for the coveted international prize.

The Bloemfontein student from Hoërskool Jean Fouché won the SA Youth Water Prize (SAYWP) in Pretoria in June this year for his water conservation project. He beat peers from eight provinces and won himself R8 000 cash and a tertiary bursary in any of the 25 universities in South Africa to study civil engineering or a water science subject. He also won R11 000 cash for his Sweden trip.

Lou-Kemp will be part of a South African team led by Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane to Stockholm for a Water Week event in which water scientists and engineers debate all things water and sanitation.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize gathers imaginative young minds from all over the world, encouraging their continued interest in water and sustainability issues. Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is the patron of the event. This year, the Scandinavian country celebrates the 20th jubilee of the competition.

Each year, around onre hundred thousand young innovators participate with their ideas. The programme also exposes and advances the interest of youth in science and technology, and motivates them to pursue water and sanitation careers. It targets grade 9 to 11 learners who identify problems related to water in their school and community, conduct a research and come up with innovations recommended to solve the problems.

The SAYWP also responds to the scarce skills challenge and serves as an incubator for the department’s Learning Academy.

How does Lou-Kemp fancy his chances of scooping the international prize?

“It’s going to be tough but anything is possible,” says Lou-Kemp.

His performance on the international stage will depend largely on the uniqueness of his project and how he presents it before the hawkish adjudicators. Most of his competitors will come from developed countries such as Japan, China, South Korea and the United States. It is therefore important that Lou-Kemp should present his case without being intimidated by the countries his rivals will come from.