THE WORLDS FIRST SWEAT MACHINE PRODUCES CLEAN WATER FOR CHILDREN

UNICEF and Gothia Cup have together developed the world's first sweat machine: A machine that extracts sweat from clothes, purifies it and transforms it into water. The goal is to raise awareness about the lack of clean water in the world, with the main purpose of raising money for water purification tablets for children. Participants and visitors of Gothia Cup are challenged to contribute with their sweaty clothes – and dare to drink a glass of sweat.

UNICEF and Gothia Cup are collaborating under the signature “United for children”, with focus on clean drinking water.

– We wanted to raise this subject in a new, playful and engaging way. Our Sweat Machine is a reminder that we all share the same water. We all drink and sweat in the same way, regardless of how we look or what language we speak. Water is everyone's responsibility and concern, says Per Westberg, Deputy Executive Director at UNICEF Sweden.

The machine has been developed by Engineer Andreas Hammar, known from the Swedish Televison show “Mekatronik”. His main challenge was to extract the sweat from todays' smart materials. The water extraction component comes from HVR Water Purification AB, which has been developed in collaboration with The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. It is now being used for the first time in the Sweat Machine.

– There are many different techniques to extract and purify water. The technical challenge was to build the sweat machine like in the space travel industry, where every filthy water drop whether it’s cooling water, urine or just sweat, is invaluable. It is hard to believe, but the water extracted from the machine is actually cleaner than ordinary swedish tap water, says Andreas Hammar.

Two famous soccer players Tobias Hysén and Mohammed Ali Khan was the first to drink a glass of sweat during Gothia Cup. Other famous profiles have been on location to help and contribute with sweat and raise the question of clean drinking water. During Gothia Cup anyone who wants to are welcome to hand in their sweaty clothes and drink some sweat to support clean drinking water. The expectation is to gather sweat from more than 70 different nations.

– We’re having fun and sweating together in the worlds biggest football tournament for youths. We are very proud to support an organisation like UNICEF in their mission to protect and promote childrens rights, says Dennis Andersson, Secretary General of Gothia Cup.

About Unicef and clean drinking water

Clean drinking water is a human right, but 780 million people still lack access to clean drinking water. Everyday thousands of children die because of contagious water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices. UNICEF works in more than 190 countries to put it right by improving water supplies and sanitation facilities and  promoting safe hygiene practices.

About Gothia Cup

Gothia Cup is the world's most international youth tournament in football. Every year over 37 000 children from more than 70 different nations participate in the tournament. The concept is still the same since the start 1975, to use soccer as the common denominator to bring the world's youth closer together for a better future.

For questions about the Sweat for Water-campaign, please contact:
Ingeborg Ekblom, PR-manager UNICEF Sweden, +46 (0) 70-995 59 16 or Thomas Björklund, Gothia Cup, +46 (0) 72-234 82 12.