World Environmental Education Day is a key occasion for highlighting the role of education in understanding the importance of respecting the environment and contributing to the conservation of natural resources, including water. Ensuring the sustainability of water resources requires instilling responsible habits in younger generations regarding water consumption and its return to the natural environment.

With this goal in mind, Aqualia is launching the 24th edition of its Children’s Digital Educational Contest, which is taking place once again via the website www.aqualiayods6.com. Aqualia invites all boys and girls in 3rd, 4th, and—for the first time—5th grade in the municipalities where the company provides services in Spain, Colombia, and Mexico to participate.

This time, the young artists will travel back in time to improve the planet’s future. Under the slogan “The Sustainable Guardians in the Mystery of the Blue Thread,” the contest offers an adventure through ancient civilizations to learn about the evolution of water care and management throughout history and to try to solve the mystery of the current scarcity of this resource.  

Water, an Essential Blue Thread 

On the website www.aqualiayods6.com, children will find guidelines, digital resources, and tools to create their online projects in a simple and intuitive way. In this edition, the Sustainable Guardians face a “historic” challenge. Water, that essential blue thread in the history of humanity for thousands of years, is showing signs of depletion. What is the reason? A journey through time across ancient civilizations will help them solve the mystery. Six civilizations accompany the journey through the six phases of the complete water cycle, leading up to the modern era. 

On the website, students will find educational materials to help them tackle this challenge: educational animated videos, such as the one explaining what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are; the comic “The Sustainable Guardians and the Mystery of the Blue Thread,” in which the usual characters join forces to save the future of water; educational posters; and a space to share ideas for caring for and protecting the environment.

To participate, once you access the site, you’ll need to answer two simple questions about water, after which you’ll gain access to the canvas to start creating. Here, you can choose from different civilizations and the resources associated with each one, as well as the six phases of the water cycle, and creatively propose your ideas and solutions to save the planet.

Participants will be eligible to win 10 individual prizes for the winners (10 gift cards for sports equipment valued at 250 euros each); 250 prizes for the children who make it to the finals (30-euro gift cards for sports equipment); and a group prize for a school (a 1,000-euro voucher for educational materials). The names of the winners will be announced starting June 5 (World Environment Day) on the contest website and at all Aqualia offices.

A Leading Contest in Sustainable Education

The Aqualia Digital Contest remains a leading initiative in environmental education, demonstrating Aqualia’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Since its launch in 2002, it has educated more than 300,000 schoolchildren and has been made available to more than 1,100 municipalities throughout Spain where the company provides services. The contest offers a tool for teaching sustainability, with educational materials designed for use in 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade classes, reaching some 450 schools across Spain. In recent years, the contest has also been implemented in Colombia and Mexico.

In the latest edition, more than 9,400 students participated, and 4,600 hours of digital training on sustainability were provided. The contest is part of a series of initiatives that Aqualia regularly carries out with elementary schools, high schools, and universities to raise awareness about the phases of the water cycle and educate students on its responsible use. In 2024, Aqualia’s digital educational platform received the prestigious Ramón del Corral Award from the Association of Communication Executives (Dircom) in the “ESG Environmental Commitment” category.