During the month of July 2025, Whitney Mudzingwa, an urban futures champion had the opportunity to represent youth voices at one of Africa’s most significant environmental gatherings, the Ramsar COP15 held in the stunning city Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The event featured a vibrant and competitive hackathon themed “Innovating for Wetlands: Local Action, Global Impact,” orchestrated by Elevate Trust. This engaging platform brought together young innovators from across Africa to collaborate on groundbreaking, science-based solutions rooted in community efforts for wetland restoration.
The hackathon was a hybrid event, with an intensive online phase that led to a physical pitch at the COP15 in Victoria Falls. The program was designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, requiring teams of 3 to 5 members, each consisting of an innovator, a scientist or researcher, and a community leader or policy expert. Competing under the name EcoBytes, the group developed a mobile application called Wetland Guard, which aims to empower communities to protect and restore wetlands. This technology combines community action with a gamified incentive system. The goal is to enable citizens to report threats to wetlands, participate in restoration efforts, and earn rewards, transforming environmental stewardship into a collective and rewarding experience.
Competing against 20 interdisciplinary teams from across the continent, the EcoBytes team reached the Top 5 finalists through mentorship, platform training, and sessions on team dynamics. They pitched their idea live at the COP15 event and secured second place. As a youth champion, this experience deepened Whitney’s commitment to environmental advocacy and positioned her and her teammates as active contributors to global environmental dialogue. Through Wetland Guard, they demonstrated that, with the right tools, local communities can become the most powerful protectors of their ecosystems.
Whitney Mudzingwa has gained immensely from the Urban Futures project, which provided her with opportunities as an innovator to participate in various platforms. Through Urban Futures programs, such as the Inala Agro-Smart Innovation Challenge, she was able to collaborate with like-minded individuals and, along with her team, develop an application named Farmlink. Her confidence in pitching innovations has greatly improved through various mentorship programs, including the Wetskills Challenge, which she also participated in through Urban Futures. Young people hold the future, and it is impressive to see them take action towards building a better tomorrow.