UNESCO Opens Applications for the Science Club Challenge 2026 – Asia‑Pacific
UNESCO has announced the call for entries to the Science Club Challenge 2026 – Asia‑Pacific edition, inviting school-based clubs and youth organisations across the region to submit practical, youth‑led STEM projects. The competition encourages teams to tackle real community problems using science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) approaches, with a focus on climate, public health, digital innovation and sustainable development. The 2026 round enlarges participation across the Asia‑Pacific, strengthens school‑to‑community linkages and highlights solutions young people can scale or adapt regionally. Applications are open for projects that transform curiosity into measurable action between January and December 2026.
What UNESCO Is Looking to Fund
Funding will favour proposals that broaden access to quality STEM opportunities, demonstrate rigorous scientific thinking, and build strong partnerships between clubs, academic institutions and relevant industry or civil society actors. Priority topics include climate resilience, marine sustainability and digital inclusion, and preference is given to activities that embed local knowledge, promote gender equity and include learners with disabilities or those from remote and island communities.
Preferred project features
- Hands‑on, inquiry‑based activities (citizen science, low‑cost lab work, makerspace projects).
- Demonstrable youth leadership in design and implementation.
- Clear partnerships with universities, research centres, industry partners or NGOs.
- Cross‑border collaboration or knowledge exchange between clubs in different countries.
- Plans to openly share curricula, data sets or teaching materials (open science / open educational resources).
Examples of eligible activities
Activities might include community sensor networks for coastal monitoring, frugal‑science lab kits adapted to local materials, joint robotics challenges linking several schools, or bilingual modules that combine traditional ecological knowledge with modern environmental science.
Who Can Apply: Eligibility Essentials
Applications are open to non‑profit, youth‑focused science clubs and school STEM societies based in UNESCO Member States and Associate Members within the Asia‑Pacific. To qualify, clubs must have at least one full year of documented activity by 31 December 2025 and be formally endorsed by a recognised institution-such as a school, university or community organisation. Applicants must be able to administer funds in line with UNESCO financial rules and commit to sharing results and educational outputs openly. Each club may submit only one proposal; multi‑country consortia are welcome but must nominate a lead institution.
- Geographical scope: Asia‑Pacific UNESCO Members and Associate Members
- Applicant type: Non‑profit, youth‑centred science clubs or school STEM societies
- Project timeframe: January-December 2026
- Target participants: Young people aged 10-24, with emphasis on girls and underserved youth
Funding Categories and Typical Grants
Choose the funding tier that matches your project’s scale, evidence of impact and partnership network.
| Funding Tier | Typical Grant (USD) | Main Expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Clubs | 2,000-5,000 | Initiate or expand a local, school‑based project |
| Impact Hubs | 5,000-10,000 | Reach multiple schools or districts and show evidence of outcomes |
| Regional Networks | 10,000-20,000 | Support multi‑country collaboration and shared resources |
How to Build a Competitive, Impactful Proposal
Review panels reward applications that move beyond one‑off outreach and present community‑responsive, evidence‑based plans with clear, measurable outcomes. The strongest proposals:
- Identify specific underserved audiences (for example, rural girls, indigenous youth, or out‑of‑school adolescents) and explain the barriers they face.
- Anchor activities in tangible local challenges-e.g., coastal erosion, water safety, informal urban waste management.
- Describe youth roles in leading design, data collection and dissemination.
- Combine in‑person and online engagement to include remote participants.
- Lay out documentation and dissemination strategies (photos, short videos, data dashboards, open lesson plans).
- Show how the project will continue after the grant period through local partnerships or follow‑on funding plans.
Monitoring and simple indicators
Turn ambitions into verifiable metrics. Below are straightforward outcome areas and example measures you can adapt:
| Outcome Area | Indicator | Data Source |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Number of first‑time club members | Registration forms |
| Inclusion | Proportion of participants who are girls or marginalised youth | Disaggregated attendance records |
| Learning | Pre/post change in basic STEM assessments | Short quizzes or practical tests |
| Retention | Repeat attendance across three months | Session logs |
| Local impact | Number of community initiatives launched based on club work | Project summaries / short reports |
Designing Activities That Connect With Local Life
Make science relatable by linking experiments and projects to the everyday experiences and livelihoods of learners. Use local languages, familiar materials and community knowledge to increase ownership and relevance.
Sample activity ideas (fresh examples)
- Mangrove Sound Lab: Youth create low‑cost hydrophones to record changes in coastal biodiversity, then compare findings with fishermen’s observations to map ecosystem health.
- Solar Repair & Sewing Hub: A combined skills project where students learn basic solar electrics and machine maintenance, producing solar lanterns while gaining vocational skills.
- Urban Heat Patch Mapping: Teams use inexpensive temperature sensors to chart heat islands and propose low‑cost interventions like green roofs or tree corridors.
- Community Micro‑Clinic Kits: Clubs co‑design simple water testing and hygiene education kits, piloting them in local markets or health posts and measuring behaviour change.
Who to Partner With and Why It Matters
Partnerships amplify impact. Collaborate with universities for scientific mentorship, local government for policy uptake, NGOs for community mobilisation and media partners for broader visibility. These alliances help projects outlast funding cycles and create pathways to internships, mentorship and further resourcing for youth participants.
Regional Collaboration: Scaling Impact Beyond Borders
The Science Club Challenge encourages cross‑country teams and shared research. When clubs from different nations pool observations-on coastal change, urban resilience or public health trends-they create a richer regional dataset. Think of individual club projects as stars that, when networked, form a regional telescope: sharper insights, broader lessons, and stronger advocacy.
Practical regional opportunities
- Coordinated field studies and shared data repositories for regional comparison.
- Multi‑country hackathons and virtual peer exchanges focused on common problems.
- Mentorship clusters linking students to researchers and policy experts across borders.
- Youth‑led policy briefs presented to local authorities or regional forums.
Across the Asia‑Pacific, such networks can strengthen disaster preparedness in island states, boost water and health resilience in South Asia, accelerate greener urban solutions in southeast cities, and prepare young people with digital and AI skills in East Asia. These platform effects create longer‑term benefits: career pathways, new funding links and a culture of open, collaborative science.
Practical Tips and a Proposal Outline You Can Reuse
Below is a compact template to shape your submission. Replace bracketed items with your local details and numbers.
1. Project summary (150-250 words)
What you will do, where, who leads, target groups, expected outcomes and budget tier requested.
2. Problem statement and target groups
Describe the local challenge, the specific learners you will reach (e.g., rural girls 12-16 in [region]), and the barriers they face-structural, cultural, linguistic or economic.
3. Activity plan and timeline
List major activities, responsible persons, key milestones and how they fit into Jan-Dec 2026.
4. Partnerships and endorsements
Identify your institutional endorsement and project partners (university, NGO, local government, media).
5. Monitoring, evaluation and learning
Specify 3-5 indicators from the table above, data collection methods and dissemination plans for open resources.
6. Sustainability and scaling
Explain how the project will continue after funding ends and any plans for replication or regional collaboration.
7. Budget summary
Provide a clear, realistic budget aligned with the chosen funding tier and include contingency and in‑kind contributions.
Quick Reminders Before You Submit
- Each club may submit only one proposal; consortia must have a lead institution.
- Ensure official endorsement from your school, university or community organisation.
- Be explicit about timelines and who will be accountable for each activity.
- Plan to make materials and data openly available according to UNESCO’s guidance.
Final Thoughts
The Science Club Challenge 2026 – Asia‑Pacific offers a platform for young innovators to convert local insight into practical science projects with regional resonance. Well‑designed, youth‑led proposals that pair clear outcomes with strong community partnerships will be best placed to receive support. Interested clubs should consult UNESCO’s official guidance and application deadlines on UNESCO’s channels and prepare concise, evidence‑driven proposals that put learners at the centre of the science.