PRIMA Young Innovators Award 2026

The PRIMA Young Innovators Award 2026 is a Recognition Prize27, rewarding the creativity, leadership, and determination of young innovators28 from Southern Mediterranean Countries who are shaping a more sustainable future for the region.

The Award aims to:

• Recognise young innovators who have personally led or significantly contributed to the conception and implementation of a solution aligned with PRIMA’s mission;
• Promote youth leadership, initiative and problem-solving capacity in addressing Mediterranean sustainability challenges;
• Support innovations that demonstrate clear relevance to local Mediterranean contexts and respond to real societal, environmental and economic needs;
• Encourage initiatives with measurable or credible expected impacts on environmental sustainability, livelihoods, or social inclusion;
• Foster replication, scalability and youth empowerment, including inspiring and mentoring other young innovators, with particular attention to women innovators.

The PRIMA Young Innovators Award 2026 will be awarded following a contest procedure and a transparent evaluation process, as described in the Rules of Contest (RoC) published on the PRIMA website at the time of call launch. Two equivalent recognition prizes will be awarded to the two highest-ranked eligible applications following evaluation. Each prize amounts to EUR 10,000.

The prizes:

• are not category-based;
• are not designated as first and second prizes;
• cannot be split, combined, or reallocated.

Awardees will benefit from high visibility and recognition, including media coverage, public acknowledgement and networking opportunities.