From food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss, to lack of access to services, gender inequalities, poverty and outmigration, the world’s mountain regions today face major global challenges.

Yet we are also in a moment of opportunities. A new generation of youth is gearing towards innovative solutions and new strategies to increase the resilience of mountain communities and conserve mountain environments.

In celebration of International Mountain Day 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) invited institutions and individuals to submit proposals for transformative projects that contribute to a sustainable mountain future, for a chance to win the 2024 Mountain Future Award.

Over 840 proposals from 75 countries were judged by a panel of mountain experts from FAO and the Mountain Partnership. The Mountain Future Award ceremony was held at the official International Mountain Day event on 11 December at the FAO headquarters. The three winners are:

• Eric Muhire, Rwanda, in the category of innovation
• Acres of Ice, India, in the category of adaptation
• Mountain Youth Hub, global, in the category of youth

The winners received a prize of 5 000 USD in seed funding, sponsored by the Arjun Gupta Family Foundation, Forte di Bard, and Polo Museale - Sapienza University of Rome. The winning proposals also received project incubation assistance from the FAO Mountain Partnership Secretariat.