History of the Prize

The Stockholm Water Prize is an international water award presented annually since 1991. It started as part of the Stockholm Water Festival, which celebrated that the Swedish capital had managed to reach its goal of having some of the cleanest water in the world. When preparing the festivities, the idea was floated to also create a Nobel Prize for water.

Though the concept was later modified – the Stockholm Water Prize is not part of the Nobel family – the award was modelled on the other prizes to ensure academic and professional excellence. Over the years, the Stockholm Water Prize has been presented to women, men and organizations who have made exceptional contributions to the understanding and protection of water. We can thank the laureates for groundbreaking scientific discoveries but also for developing solutions that really have changed the world.

The Stockholm Water Prize has thereby contributed to expanding our understanding of water and to make new ideas more widely shared so that they can influence policy and practice.