Care4it -energy competition
The care4it competition was organized by the IEC in collaboration with the IEA (International Energy Agency). The theme of the competition, open to any school student in the world, was electrical energy efficiency. Students – tomorrow's adults – were asked to submit ideas to increase awareness of the use or consumption of electricity and to suggest ways in which it might be used better or differently.
SESKO supported a number of Finnish schools by preparing them for the competition. The Competition finished at the end of 2008. In May 2009 the prizes were awarded.
Finnish school succeeded in competition
Second prize went to the 6th grade students of the Kappelimäki primary school in Laitila, Finland, who received USD 3 000 for their "snowball project" and "Care4the world" video. The DVD they submitted showed pupils learning the effect of turning off lighting in the school whenever they left the classroom for longer than 10 minutes. They compared data over two years and then looked at energy consumption data from the local electricity utility. The results of their studies influenced the school to make light energy savings. They noted that over the single month of November 2008 they were already able to make a saving of EUR 110. In changing their behavior, they also taught others. They involved other pupils, their parents, and other schools. They set off a snowball-effect in making people aware of their possible energy savings. Now they are aiming to continue this effort and to contact other schools both in Finland and Scandinavia.
When the Kappelinmäki primary school students got the word about winning the secondary prize, they decided to reward themselves with a visit at Heureka, The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa. Heureka's exhibitions are interactive. The main exhibition has over 200 exhibits from many fields of science as well as a number of activity points. In addition to the main exhibition Heureka houses two temporary exhibitions.
First place and 10 000 US-dollar grand prize was awarded to Akosombon international school in Ghana. The two-minute video entry contained all the elements that the judges felt best summarized the competition’s theme.
Third, 2000 USD dollar prize went to a school in Chomutov in the Czech Republic.
Details of the competition and the competitive work at IEC's website.
http://
www.iec.ch/online_news/etech/arch_2009/etech_0509/world_3.htm