UNICEF Youth Leading in Water Resilience

Data Management and Citizen Science in the Youth Leading in Water Resilience Project 8 The Youth Leading in Water Resilience Project adopted a robust digital data management approach to empower participants and build a lasting water quality knowledge base. By combining an online mapping platform with on-the-ground citizen science, the project ensured that water quality data collected by youth and communities became a powerful tool for change. This section outlines how the WaterCAN Map My Water platform, participant training, and ongoing data collection contributed to improved monitoring and evidence-based advocacy.

Learners from Port Nolloth High School using testing kits.

WaterCAN Map My Water: A Digital Platform for Water Data Central to the project’s data strategy was the WaterCAN Map My Water platform – an online tool where water champions and citizen scientists could upload local water test results. The platform displays these crowdsourced results on an interactive map, providing a visual overview of water quality across South Africa. All submitted data is stored securely and can even be cross-checked with official government water data when available. This ensures that citizen generated insights are available for analysis and can be leveraged in water management decisions. WaterCAN manages and maintains the Map My Water system for the long term, while its content is continuously expanded by contributions from youth and community “water warriors” nationwide. In effect, the platform democratizes water monitoring by letting

the public drive data collection and transparency, rather than relying solely on state reporting. Source: watercan.org.za Training Youth and Communities to Contribute Data High school students learn to conduct water quality tests during a citizen science training workshop. Through hands-on training sessions, the project team equipped students, teachers, and community members with the skills to monitor water quality and manage data. Participants practiced using simple test kits to measure key water parameters (e.g. pH, chlorine, E. coli) and were shown how to upload their results to the Map My Water platform. The tools and website proved user-friendly – youth and adults alike could be quickly trained to conduct tests and contribute their findings to the online map. This capacity-building UNICEF Youth Leading in Water Resilience Report 2025 28