In 1985, as the world watched a horrific famine rip through lives in Ethopia, a young man with no other experience but music decided to try to feed the world. I thoroughly recommend Live Aid at 40, the BBC’s three-part documentary following Bob Geldof’s ‘imperfect attempt to solve an impossible problem’. I’ve been bewitched by it.

If ever there was a poster child for the power of virtuous anger and determination, it’s Bob Geldof. His charismatic spark lit an unstoppable fire that sucked in A-list stars and ordinary people alike, united in a common cause.

For young people of my generation, Live Aid was a more than a cultural moment. It felt like an awakening. It felt like small things mattered, like what you did made a difference.

In today’s radically changed world, the power of young people with belief and determination is exactly what’s needed again. But this time, water needs to be our common cause. And if we’re going to ‘Water the world’ we’ll need more than one hero. We’ll need millions. Right on the frontline.

The tech-savvy generation water needs

That frontline is the water industry. Climate change, migration, ageing infrastructure and our inexorable thirst for water means managing and protecting our most precious resource is more pressing than ever.

In this new environment, creating lasting water resilience will take more than just pipes, pumps and repetitive practise. It will need super humans who are willing to up the ante (and their performance) using technology.

I’m a firm believer in the power of AI to transform our response to the water crisis but as long as working cultures remain a barrier to its adoption it will never reach its potential.

AI doesn’t replace experience—it amplifies it.

Purpose-driven young people in the water sector can see this and because they grew up with connectivity, code, and collaboration they are comfortable navigating ups and downs of technological innovation.

This is part of their essential value. They will give us the crucial edge we need in the race to detect leaks faster, manage networks smarter, and reduce waste in ways the industry couldn’t have imagined a decade ago.

Bridging the generational gap

Communicating the advantages of AI requires patience. It requires you to speak both languages: the digital one of sensors and software, and the human one of pride and purpose.

If we get it right, we will also be able to take knowledge forward that might otherwise be lost.

Many seasoned professionals in the water sector built entire careers on manual inspection, tried-and-tested methods, and hard-earned intuition. They are real experts, but many are approaching retirement and we need to make sure their experience and intuition is captured.

That’s where young people’s innate empathy and leadership come in.

By demonstrating comfort and openness to technology, young water professionals lead by example right at the frontline of the water crisis. They use AI instinctively – to extract insight from large data sets, spot trends in real-time data, cut down on false positives – so they can faster and more reliably on what really matters: making decisions that save water and serve people.

#BeMoreBob

Whether you have heard of Live Aid or not, I encourage you to watch the documentary if you can. The world has irrevocably changed since 1985. We’re bombarded with entertainment. We can pick and choose our media and if we don’t like the news we can turn away.  But unlike the famine that spurred Live Aid, the global water crisis is not a distant threat. It’s everywhere. It’s here. And this time we need millions of Bobs to light the spark.

So, if you’re a young person in the water industry:

Believe in the role of technology.
Believe in your ability to drive adoption.
Believe in the power of collaboration across generations.
And above all, believe that we can solve this crisis -together.

Because if you don’t, who will?

Oh, and #BeMoreBob