[LMGlobal.Org] After a rigorous evaluation process, the first round of the Evaluation Committee for the 2025 J.U.C. Awards has been completed, and the finalists have been selected! Throughout the assessment, a distinguished panel of experts carefully reviewed each application.

As we move into the final phase of the awards, the second round will consist of virtual interviews with each finalist to determine the top four winners in each category, which is scheduled for Friday, February 21, 2025.

A Zoom Invitation has been sent out to all the finalists in four categories along with to the all involved organizations/institutions as of February 16, 2025.

The 2025 J.U.C. Media, Research, Writing & Innovation Awards, an international encouragement award dedicated to the #WaterActionDecade, challenging high school students to address global water issues. The program has steadily grown since 2021 as a bi-annual program, received 48 submissions from five countries in Burundi, India, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Türkiye for the 2025.

Below is the list of finalists by category, along with their respective countries.

Newsletter#15 THE OUTCOME OF THE 2025 J.U.C. AWARDS FIRST-ROUND EVALUATION PROCESS

Please kindly note: While we aim to announce the 1st Round Finalists publicly, at the same time, this invitation particularly aims as first to all the listed finalists in this page, involved schools and organizations, along with the international student coordinators. And, certainly all the applicants are invited to observe the process, if they wish it so…

AN INVITATION TO THE 2025 J.U.C. AWARDS’ FINALISTS FOR A BRIEF INTERVIEW SESSION

ON FRIDAY, FEB. 21 AT 11:00 (EST)

TIME ZONES:  11:00 a.m. U.S. (EST)  | 17:00 Nigeria  | 18:00 Burundi | 19:00 TR | 21:30 India
21:30 Sri Lanka 

REGISTER (required) in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YgMKqVG7QP2CZeQRipmgGA 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

CONGRATULATIONS OF THE BELOW LISTED FINALISTS…
AND, LET’S MEET WITH THE FINALISTS…

• MEDIA Category*:
M1. Ange Louella HORIMBE, Burundi
M2. Supuni Sandunika JAYARATNE, Sri Lanka
M3. Sehas GAMAGE, Sri Lanka
M4. Nushadi HASARANGI, Sri Lanka
M6. Jowish J. AGNELO, India

• INNOVATION Category*:
Inv1. Defne ASLAN, Türkiye
Inv2. Harish GYANI, India
Inv4. Kagan IPEK, Türkiye
Inv6. Rukiye OZCELIK, Türkiye
Inv7. S.M. Vikaash KUMAR, India

• RESEARCH Category*:
R1. Azra BİLDİK, Türkiye
R2. Cagan Aras INCEL, Türkiye
R3. Ogbu KAMSIMELVIN, Nigeria
R4. Shai RUKHSHAN, India
R5. S.M. VEBINESH, India

• WRITING Category*:
W04. Helitha REHAN, Sri Lanka
W07. Sanuli DISSANAYAKE, Sri Lanka
W10. Sinem Gül TEKİN, Türkiye
W13. Yağmur ERDİNÇ, Türkiye
W15. Defne DURDAĞI, Türkiye

THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE OF THE 2025 J.U.C. AWARDS

Co-Chairs:
Ambassador Mr. Rodrigo A. Carazo of Costa Rica to the United Nations (2018-2022); Member, UN Human Rights Committee (Geneva)
Prof. Olcay Ünver, Arizona State University; Vice-Chair of UN-Water and Senior Water Advisor at UN FAO.
Members:
• Ambassador Mr. Yogendra Kumar of India (Retired) & Author of two books & Editor another
• Prof. Victor Lawrence, Director of the Center for Intelligent Networked Systems (iNetS), and former Associate Dean and Bachelor Chair Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology (New Jersey); Secretary General, LMGlobal.Org
• Prof. Günay Smith, Professor of Biological and Chemical Sciences at Southside Virginia Community College (Retired.); Adviser, LMGlobal.Org
• Dr. Dahlia Sabri, Chair, IWRA-Egypt Chapter
• Ms. Ilknur Boray, V.P. Ataturk Society of America & The Atatürk World Platform
• Ms. Bircan Ünver, M.A., Author and Project Director, LMGlobal.Org
Youth: 
Ms. Vrushali Gaikwad, LMGlobal.Org – Youth Board Member (2024-2026), Software Engineer
Mr. Ren Jie, Ph.D. Candidate (2029), School of Marxism, Environmental Politics and Ecological Civilization, Peking University

Project Author/Director: Bircan Ünver
Project Development Assistant: Mimoza Irtem

[*] DISCLAIMER: 

[*] THE ORDER OF APPEARANCE IN THE ABOVE CATEGORIES DO NOT REPRESENT THE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH PLACES NEITHER ACCORDING TO THE TOTAL SCORE OF EACH SUBMISSION.
It simply represents the Submission Code number of each Entry that is also presented through the following web page since January 4, 2025.


The interview session will determine the first three monetary award recipients and the fourth non-monetary award recipient. 
About the fifth one in each category, if any of the first four finalists fail to make the interview session without any legitimate reason, accordingly, the fifth one may rank based on the received total score who might be then rank on the fourth place. 

The final score will be given by an E. Committee members to each applicant’s submission based upon the outcome of the each interview.

IMPORTANT NOTES TO THE FINALISTS:

1. The list of the FINALISTS does NOT indicate the award placement yet.
2. Based on the outcome of the Interview session, the award placement will be determined by the Evaluation Committee.
3. The final results of the process and awards in each category will be announced on March 22, 2025.
4. Until then, the first, second, third, and fourth place winners won’t be announced.
5. The fourth-place winner will receive a certificate and recognition but not a monetary award.
6. Under each category, each finalist will have 2-3 min. brief interview to be conducted by one of the Evaluation Committee Members.
7. All the FINALISTS are expected to participate in the Interview Session unless an emergency or previously informed the organization for an acceptable reason that a finalist cannot make the Interview Session. We hope that this won’t be the case.
8. In case any finalist fails to join the interview session without any legitimate reason, that finalist may be disqualified.

REGISTER (required) in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YgMKqVG7QP2CZeQRipmgGA 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

• THE SUBMISSIONS OF THE 2025 J.U.C. AWARDS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS LINK >

GLOBAL PARTICIPATION AND IMPACT

The 2025 J.U.C. Awards received submissions from students at several schools and organizations around the world, including:
• Darüşşafaka High School (Istanbul, Türkiye)
• Whyteleafe Performing Arts Academy (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
• The Institution of Green Engineers (IGEN) (Chennai, India)
• Association of Young Leaders United for Sustainable Development (Burundi)

The program’s success is also due to the dedicated efforts of its student coordinators:
Ms. Duru Büyükbaşaran (Türkiye)
Ms. Rukhshana R.A. (India)
Mr. Lyonga Jewis (Cameroon)
Ms. Mimoza Irtem (Türkiye / U.S. – Outreach Coordinator)

The Light Millennium Global, will announce the winners of the 2025 J.U.C. Awards around the World Water Day in March 2025. The winning projects will be recognized for their creativity, innovation, and potential to inspire positive change.

©2020-2025 J.U.C. Awards – A Bi-Annual International Project of the Light Millennium Global for high school students.