Around 6,150 students from 136 countries registered this year and all teams have now been matched 1:1 with mentors ahead of final submissions on 28 February
The Earth Prize has officially closed registrations for its 2026 edition, marking the largest cohort in the competition’s history. This year, around 6,150 students aged 13–19 applied - a 42.6% increase compared to 2025 - bringing the total number of young people reached by The Earth Prize to over 21,000 across 169 countries and territories since 2021.
Students from 136 countries and territories and more than 3,500 schools worldwide have registered their ideas to address urgent environmental challenges, from climate adaptation and clean energy, to water pollution and biodiversity loss. Participation has grown by more than 150% since 2022, underlining the Prize’s rapidly expanding global reach.
This year’s edition also saw The Earth Prize expand its global footprint further, with nine new countries represented for the first time: Barbados, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Turkmenistan, Republic of Congo, Yemen, Micronesia, Suriname, and Denmark. Participation now spans all global regions, reinforcing the Prize’s mission to reach students wherever they are and ensure access to mentorship, resources, and visibility for young people from diverse geographic and socio-economic contexts. Seven Regional Winners for the 2026 edition will once again be selected across seven global regions - Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central and South America, the Middle East, and Oceania & Southeast Asia.
With registrations now closed, all teams from the 2026 cohort have been matched with a dedicated 1:1 mentor, entering an intensive development phase focused on strengthening ideas, building pilots, and preparing final submissions. The next milestone in the competition is the final project submission deadline on 28 February.
Previous winners of The Earth Prize have gone on to receive international recognition for their work, with teams featured in outlets including Forbes, Euronews, HuffPost, and Business Insider. This month, Global Winner Tomáš Čermák was also selected for Forbes Czechia’s 30 Under 30, highlighting the Prize’s role as a global launchpad for young innovators turning ideas into real-world impact. As this year’s cohort enters the mentorship phase, The Earth Prize team looks forward to seeing what the 2026 cohort will create and how these new solutions develop in the months ahead.