Isle of Man students from Queen Elizabeth II High School competed against 45 countries to win the first ever International Award from the Ozone Action Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme.
The competition, in co-operation with Volvo Adventure, saw 16 and 17-year-olds Moira Pain, Rachael Harrop, Alex Eaton, Colin Bankes-Jones and Tom Anderson represent the Isle of Man and go onto win the prestigious award.
The Peel students travelled to Gothenburg in Sweden to compete against 10 other international finalists in the 2012 Volvo Adventure Awards, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The competition saw 245 teams from 45 countries compete for the Ozone Award, which was commissioned in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Montreal Protocol. The teams in the final were from Brazil, China, Croatia, Egypt, Macedonia, Paraguay, Russia, Turkey and the USA.
The Manx students submitted a project entitled ‘Investigative Journalism in the Gambia’ to win the award.
Moira Pain, 17, said: “Our project was inspired by a trip to Gambia with the international charity Concern Universal, where we saw first-hand the impact climate change is having. Two of the most significant issues that we learned about were salinisation and desertification, and we came home determined to do our bit to stop these problems, both of which are exacerbated by climate change.
“We want to educate people about how to, and why they should, reduce their carbon footprint. Whole-school initiatives have begun to reduce the school’s carbon emissions. As a result of our efforts the school is now ranked second out of more than 15,000 schools for sustainable credentials in EDF's Programme The Pod, as part of Eco-Schools. We have raised £3,000 for Concern Universal, so they can continue their work to help those affected by climate change.”
The judges were a team of representatives from UNEP, UNESCO, Volvo Car Corporation and AB Volvo. Their citation for the Isle of Man project read: “A passionate project of solidarity, linking local action with impact anywhere on the planet. A true demonstration of thinking globally and acting locally”.
Whilst in Sweden, the Isle of Man team participated in activities including, workshops on themes of environmental responsibility, international co-operation and reducing carbon outputs. The students also went on a tour of the Volvo factory, visited the Swedish Archipelago, explored the local high school and spent an evening having dinner at the home of their Swedish hosts.
Mr Simpson, Head of R.S. and Social Sciences at Queen Elizabeth II High School, said: “I have been in a bit of shock this week. I had no idea of the sheer scale of the event. Our famous five students were a huge hit with top brass from Volvo, the UN, Tunza Ecological magazine and the BBC, and for the students to be speaking to them on equal terms was an incredible opportunity.’”
Lesley Sleight, Head of Lifeskills at Queen Elizabeth II High School, said: “Wondy Asnake from UNEP was so impressed with the group that he is inviting two of them to represent Europe at the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference in Qatar. In addition, the World Scouting Organisation rewarded them each with a ‘World Citizenship Award’.
“It has been an incredible experience for us all and the Isle of Man should be proud. This is the second time our country has been selected for the finals. In 2009 we were placed second with project ‘tREeCYCLE’, an outstanding achievement.
Photo: Receiving Ozone Action Award Certificate and Volvo Awards – (from left to right) Rachael Harrop, Moira Pain, Colin Bankes- Jones, Alex Eaton, Tom Anderson
