Behind AWA

Five years of building a movement.

Our story, our founder, and the values that shape how we work.

Our Story

Founded in Peru, built for the world

The AWA Project began in 2020 with a single pilot project in Peru, supported by Carey Projects and Audacious Futures in collaboration with the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. That early support gave us the foundation to grow from a local idea into a global, youth-led network.

2020

Founded in Peru

AWA launches its first pilot project, laying the groundwork for a youth-led approach to water justice.

2023

Going Global

AWA steps onto the international stage for the first time, representing youth voices at World Water Week in Stockholm.

2024

The Year of Expansion

Growing global presence and recognition: from the World Bank's Young Water Professional Network to APEC's Youth Forum, while deepening impact across all three pillars.

2025

The Year of Collaboration

UN 2026 accreditation, a first field research project with FONDEMAR, a Strategic Advisory Board, and recognition on The Bloom's 30 Under 30 Social Impact list.

2026

Radical Implementation

AWA enters the UN 2026 Water Conference as the only youth-led organization from Peru with special accreditation.

Leadership

Meet our founder

Andrea Cáceres

Andrea Cáceres

Founder & Executive Director
  • IE Foundation Fellow during her Master's in International Development at IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs
  • Winner of the Women Empowerment Challenge, earning a full scholarship
  • Recipient of the IE University Alumni EPIC Award, Human Success category
  • Selected to the Youth Organizing Committee for the UN 2026 Water Conference
  • Named to The Bloom's 30 Under 30 Social Impact Changemakers list
  • Honored as Bicentennial Youth Leader by the Congress of Peru
  • Speaker and collaborator with World Water Week, the World Bank, and the Red Cross, among other organizations
  • Co-author of "Beyond Borders: Stories of Climate Mobility, Activism and Resilience"
Our Team

The people behind AWA

A volunteer team of young professionals who shape our strategy, run our projects and carry our work into new spaces.

Strategic advisors

What We Believe

Our values

Water justice is social justice

We treat equitable water access as inseparable from broader questions of equality, culture, and community wellbeing.

Youth belong at the table

Not as a symbolic gesture, but as the people actually shaping the programs and decisions that affect their communities.

Collaboration over competition

Our impact multiplies through partnership, from grassroots organizations to the United Nations.

Transparency, even when it's early

We report our numbers honestly, estimates included, because trust matters more than looking bigger than we are.

Be part of the next chapter.

Whether you give, volunteer, or just spread the word, you're joining a movement five years in the making.

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