ACT Water Awards, Finalist, Student Water Prize 2020

Category: ACT Water Awards, Finalist, Student Water Prize 2020

Project: Anji Perera, University of Canberra, PhD in Communication

Project Title: Water literacy and beyond; connecting communities through education, engagement, and experience

Project summary:

This project expands on prior research conducted within the Australian water sector and highlights that human-centric approaches in water conservation where communication, connection and collaboration with people is key to achieving long term water security . The project endeavours to develop a new understanding of consumer demographics, sociocultural characteristics, generational differences, and media influences in forming water literacy, customer engagement, and awareness. Given that communication research in the Australian water sector is largely practice-based and over the past few years, interest in water literacy has been growing, the findings of this study will appeal to a wider audience across the Australian water industry and environmental policies. The findings will be directly relevant when re-thinking communication and consumer engagement strategies, as the originality of the study comes from the integration of technology and communication solutions around water conservation. This is a highly relevant perspective to sustainable water demand management.