KIWW

The World Water Challenge 2025 received a total of 311 solutions from 68 countries, structured around three main thematic areas.

Following the first-round evaluation, nine solutions advanced to the final round. During the finals, comprehensive assessments were conducted through oral presentations and question-and-answer (Q&A) sessions. The final winners of WWCH 2025 were selected based on five key evaluation criteria: fact-finding, contribution to sustainability, feasibility, originality and innovation, and overall impact.

The “THE BEST” Award was presented to the team proposing “AI-Driven Artificial Glaciers for Water Security and Climate Adaptation,” which received a cash prize of KRW 10,000,000.

In addition, the “OUTSTANDING” Awards were conferred on two solutions: “Garuda WaterGuard: An Integrated Smart Ecosystem for Water Quality Restoration and Monitoring in Degraded Freshwater Bodies,” and “Monitoring of Water Consumption and Water Productivity in Irrigated Lands of the Fergana.”

Each awardee received a cash prize of KRW 3,000,000, along with a trophy.

Celebrating its 10th edition, World Water Challenge 2024 broadened its scope by focusing on Main Topics instead of specified Challenges, aiming to encourage broader participation. With 5 Main Topics, a total of 54 submissions were received from 28 countries.

Following the initial evaluation, 10 solutions advanced to the final round. During the finals, participants were assessed through oral presentations and Q&A sessions. The three winners of WWCH 2024 were selected based on five key criteria: Fact-finding, Contribution to Sustainability, Feasibility, Originality/Novelty and Impact.

“THE BEST” prize winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 7,000 USD) for the solution titled ‘Smart Water City: Technical Solution Platforms as an Evaluation Criteria and Implementation Guidance’, and two winners were granted the “OUTSTANDING” prize for the solutions titled ‘3MINS WTP ’, and ‘Visenleer’. The two awardees also received 3,000,000 KRW (Approx. 2,113 USD) cash prize with trophies.

In 2023, a set of Main Topics and Challenges which align with SDG Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) were newly selected by the international steering committee. With 5 Main Topics and 9 Challenges, WWCH 2023 received a total of 126 submissions from 43 countries.

As a result of the first round of evaluation, 9 solutions were chosen and invited to the final round. The finalists were evaluated based on their oral presentations and Q&A held in the final round and the three winners of WWCH 2023 were decided according to the following criteria: Comprehension, Contribution to “Sustainability”, Feasibility, Originality/Novelty and Impact. “THE BEST” prize winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 7,600 USD) for the solution titled ‘Recycling of wastewater to recover fresh water, reduce brine discharge and capture CO2’, and two winners were granted the “OUTSTANDING” prize for the solutions titled ‘Clean Water Village：Sustainable Water Resource Management Action from Catchment to Villagers’, and ‘SWC’. The two awardees also received 3,000,000 KRW (Approx. 2,200 USD) cash prize with trophies.

WWCH 2022 attracted 93 solutions from 39 countries with 12 challenges (same main topics in 2020).

The 9 selected solutions out of 93 were selected for the final round, and those solution providers were invited to the WWCH 2022 final round. The selected nine solutions were evaluated by their oral presentations and the interviews during the final round and the three winners of WWCH 2022 were decided according to the criteria: Comprehension, Feasibility, Contribution to “Sustainability”, Challenge, Impact and Presentation. “THE BEST” prize (the Minister Award of the Korean Ministry of Environment) winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 7,600 USD) for the solution titled ‘Micro solar desalinator, easily producible in underdeveloped countries ’, and other two winners were granted “OUTSTANDING” prizes (the President Award of the Korea Water Forum) for the solutions titled ‘Grid connected solar irrigation pumps for economic and sustainable water solution’, and ‘Empowering the local to access safe and sustainable drinking water in Laos’. Two outstanding awardees also received 3,000,000 KRW (Approx. 2,200 USD) cash prize with trophies.

Because of pandemic situation, KIWW 2021 was decided to cancel. Although the KIWW was not happening in 2021, we held WWCH 2021 separately on December 3th in COEX. Following 2020, 12 challenges were determined and 73 solutions from 32 countries participated in WWCH 2021.

The nine selected solutions out of 73 were selected for the final round, and those solution providers were invited to the WWCH 2021 final round which was livestreamed on KIWW website simultaneously. The selected nine solutions were evaluated by their oral presentations and the interviews during the final round and the three winners of WWCH 2021 were decided according to the criteria: Comprehension, Feasibility, Contribution to “Sustainability”, Challenge, Impact and Presentation. “THE BEST” prize (the Minister Award of the Korean Ministry of Environment) winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 7,600 USD) for the solution titled ‘Solving Scarce and Contaminated Water Problems with the Village Drill and Community Funded Financing’, and other two winners were granted “OUTSTANDING” prizes (the President Award of the Korea Water Forum) for the solutions titled ‘Piloting Innovative Flash Flood Early Warning System in Mountainous Regions of China’, and ‘SLAMDAM: Water-Filled Flood Barrier’. Two outstanding awardees also received 5,000,000 KRW (Approx. 3,800 USD) cash prize with trophies.

WWCH 2020 attracted 86 solutions from 37 countries. 12 pre-identified challenges were carefully selected by the international steering committee of the WWCH 2020 before ‘call for solutions process’. Particularly, given the current global circumstance in which the world is suffering from COVID-19 pandemic, WWCH 2020 was held as a virtual event, dealing with the special topic “Water and Health’ along with 5 Main Topics to demonstrate a pathway to not only overcoming the current pandemic but also achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The nine selected solutions out of 86 were selected for the final round, and those solution providers were invited to the WWCH 2020 final round which was livestreamed on KIWW website. The selected nine solutions were evaluated by their oral presentations and the interviews during the final round and the three winners of WWCH 2020 were decided according to the criteria: Comprehension, Feasibility, Contribution to “Sustainability”, Challenge, Impact and Presentation. “THE BEST” prize (the Minister Award of the Korean Ministry of Environment) winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 9,200 USD) for the solution titled ‘Extraction of Water from Air at Zero Energy Expenditure to Mitigate Water and Energy Crisis in India’, and other two winners were granted “OUTSTANDING” prizes (the President Award of the Korea Water Forum) for the solutions titled ‘Gravit’eau: a mobile handwashing station with automatic water recycling’, and ‘SMART Tech in support of Low Tech for Pumping Water Uphill’. Two outstanding awardees also received 5,000,000 KRW (Approx. 4,600 USD) cash prize with trophies.

WWCH 2019 attracted 67 solutions from 37 countries. Ten prioritized challenges were carefully selected by the international steering committee of the WWCH 2019 before ‘call for solutions process’. In total 67 solutions were submitted from all over the world and only nine solutions were selected for the final round, and those solution providers were invited to the final round of the WWCH during KIWW2019.

The selected nine solutions were evaluated by their oral presentations and the interviews during the final round at the KIWW 2019 and the three winners of WWCH2019 were decided according to the criteria: comprehension, contribution, feasibility, challenge and impact. “The BEST” prize winner was granted 10,000,000 KRW (Approx. 9400 USD) for the solution titled ‘A water kiosk at school’, and other two winners were awarded “OUTSTANDING” prizes for the solutions titled ‘Novel Fertilizer Production from Human Urine in Membrane Distillation Process’, and ‘Sponge-An Innovation in irrigation for sustainable farming’. Two outstanding awardees also received 3,000,000 KRW (Approx. 2,600 USD) cash prize with trophies.