The Bertha Challenge is an opportunity for activists and investigative journalists to spend a year focusing on one pressing social justice issue. Successful applicants receive a non-residential paid fellowship and a project budget to work independently and together to investigate the causes of and solutions to the annual Bertha Challenge question.

Next year’s challenge revolves around the issue of fresh water and oceans. Access to safe drinking water is a major public health topic. According to data gathered by the World Health Organization, more than 780 million people lack access to a basic drinking water service, while globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with human waste. It is also estimated that by 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas, which means more conflict to access limited water sources and more likelihood of diseases. Healthy oceans provide food and livelihood to millions of people around the world. If this is a topic that interests you and is relevant to where you live, please consider looking into this unique opportunity. Next year’s Bertha’s Challenge must answer this very specific question:

How is the relationship between politics and profit contributing to the degradation and loss of our freshwater and oceans, and what can be done to ensure equitable access and protection of these finite resources for people and planet?

You can find out more about the Bertha Foundation in this short video below or access the 2022 Challenge details.