YRE exposure at the COP 22

This year's Climate Change Conference (COP22) took place in Marrakech, Morocco from 7-18 November 2016.

YRE had a successful presentation at the COP 22, thanks to the great initiative shown by our Moroccan FEE/YRE member organisation, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental protection.  

One of the highlights was that two YRE students presented "the Voice of Youth", a recommendation of actions towards combatting Climate Change, in front of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC secretary Executive, Irina Bokova UNESCO General Director, and the minister of education of Morocco. 

Mariame Mouhoub, YRE Student from Marrakech also presented a statement on the youth future in front of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI and Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which was another key moment for the programme. 

 

Hands on work by Young Reporters

Left: Filipa Murta / Right: Joana Pedro

Left: Filipa Murta / Right: Joana Pedro

At the COP 22, we had two Young Reporters from Portugal, Joana Pedro and Filipa Murta, covering the sessions and events. They have produced articles and videos on the COP 22 and they are posted on the YRE Exposure page. 

"Accepting the challenge of going to Marrakesh in Morocco and having the mission to go to COP 22 to prepare journalistic material was undoubtedly very gratifying and enriching. It was very interesting to notice the multicultural presence at the COP 22, there were people from all over the world and mobilized by the same hope for the sustainability, a better world in which we can live. Observing the courage and hope of the representatives changed my perspective. I left Morocco with other horizons and new visions about the world. For me the most interesting and powerful moment was the workshop that we had together with Young Reporters from Morocco and also from Africa. In addition to environmental knowledge, I learned how a country can be so different from ours. An experience to repeat ..."

Filipa Murta

 

"Being at the COP22 as an YRE was an absolutely amazing and memorable experience. Despite being a little lost at first, we started exploring the COP venue and Marrakech itself and we felt at home almost instantly. In a few days I was able to encounter several people from different countries, also interested in climate issues, and understand how a conference of this magnitude works.  Concluding, the opportunity of being involved in the COP made me outgrow and surpass myself, forcing me to practice new skills and adapt to the odd environment around me. Being at the COP is all an YRE can ask for."

Joana Pedro

Get on board!! - YRE Global Action Days

The Global Action Days is a call for all students and teachers around the world to be active and share their actions on being more sustainable in our modern world. Become inspired and be part of the change this world needs!

The period for the Global Action Days 2016 is from 7 to 13 November. 

 

Learn more about YRE Global Action Days

 

Share your actions and stories on our Global Action Days Facebook page where you can also read about great stories from all around the world. 

 

YRE short video competition

YRE International is organising a short video competition for all the current and previous participants of YRE programme. Read more about the competition from below! 

YRE short video competition

 

Young Reporters on a mission at the COP 22

YRE International is giving our programme participants various opportunities to participate in the international conferences related to environmental issues. This year, we are sending two Young Reporters from Portugal,  Joana Pedro and Filipa Murta to the Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. The conference will take place from 7 to 18 November. They will be reporting on workshops and other events from the conference venue. Their reports and stories will be shared on YRE Exposure page and YRE Facebook and Twitter. 

Joana Pedro

'Having been chosen to be present in the COP22 is a great honour. I am really excited to go to Marrakesh and to have the oportunity of taking part in this conference as an YRE. I hope to be up to the task, that it meets my expectations and also concedes me the chance to get to know other YRE's that share some of my motivations and thoughts.'

Her experience as a YRE Student began in 2011, when a teacher introduced her to the YRE programme in Portugal. 'I had never dreamt to be a journalist my love for the environment and nature made me become interested to discover the project. Since then I have participated in 4 seminars in Portugal, 4 missions and 1 workshop, and I am eager to continue to be a part of it, since it has just got me fond memories, loads of good friends, knowledge and the opportunity to develop new skills.'

Filipa Murta

'With Young Reporters for the Environment, my professional and personal evolution has been remarkable. In 2012, I joined this project and it’s easy to recognize the variety of activities that provides us. I started as a Eco-Reporter of Energy and later became a Young Reporter for the Environment. I also participated in missions and seminars, sharing knowledge with other colleagues', Filipa says. 

'I am excited about the opportunity to go to a place where I have never been, with a culture that is also new to me. I will be active throughout my stay in Marrakech. I will try to enjoy the cultural differences, utilize my English during the conference, and establish new contacts'. 
 

Watch the video below, to know more about Filipa.

PRESS RELEASE: YRE International Competition

Contact: Gosia Luszczek, International YRE Director | E: gosia@fee.global
Yukiko Tsuburaya, International YRE Assistant | E: yukiko@fee.global

Copenhagen, October 2016

Do you feel passionate about the environment? Do you want to get the chance to show your photo, video or article to everyone? Don't hesitate and participate with us in the International YRE Competition. The winning entries will be published internationally on the Huffington Post Kids and on the YRE International website!
YRE international competition is for winners of YRE National Competition in country running YRE programme. Students who are participating in the YRE programme in each country has a right to participate in the competition. Students have to compete and be selected as national winner to be sent to the international competition.

International Competition categories
 
YRE International Competition is consisted of three different categories.
 
International Competition – open for all countries with every theme, except for the theme litter for countries participating in the Litter Less Campaign. Countries that are not participating in the campaign, still can submit entries related to litter problem.

Litter Less Campaign – theme litter, open for countries that are involved in the Litter Less Campaign: Israel, Romania, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China, India, and Ireland
* Please note that the submissions under the theme of Litter from Litter Less Campaign countries will be evaluated separately, and the winners will receive recognitions with a certificate.

International Collaboration – open for all countries with 3 recommended themes from 17 Sustainable Development Goals: 11-Sustainable Cities, 12-Responsible consumption & production, 13-Climate action. The submission must be a form of “Article” and a collaborative work between 2 countries, and it is open for the age category 15-18 years old.

More information: http://www.yre.global/

YRE at the International Conference “Transforming Education for Children and Youth”

On 16-18 September 2016, Centre for Environment Education (CEE) India hosted the International Conference entitled “Transforming Education for Children and Youth” in Ahmedabad, India.

During the conference the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programme was presented by Gosia Luszczek, YRE International Programme Director, who chaired the session on youth and its role in sustainable education.

The session highlighted the role of education for youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on good practice examples whilst underlining innovative strategies and methodologies in pedagogy and curriculum in both formal and non-formal settings.

Young reporters from YRE India actively participated in discussions during the conference. In addition, they worked as journalists reporting on all sessions and discussions throughout the CEE Conference and the FEE General Assembly.

The reports written by students are showcased on the YRE Exposure page.

Internship opportunity for the YRE programme

 

YRE International is looking for an intern who will work with us on research and programme development for the YRE programme from this autumn. 

The call is open for students or graduate students with background in pedagogical education, communication, environmental study, or policy studies. It is an offer for unpaid internship.

Read more about the opportunity

If you have any inquiry regarding the call, please contact us at any time. 

We are looking forward to hearing from you! 

YRE International Jury and Competition Winners 2016

The Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) International Jury meeting for the 2016 Competition successfully took place on 26 May at the Foundation for Environmental Education Head Office in Copenhagen, Denmark.

YRE International Jury 2016

YRE International Jury 2016

The Jury was composed by stakeholders in the fields of environmental journalism and Education for Sustainable Development. The members, as of May 2016, are Christopher Slaney, freelance journalist, Mari Nishimura, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP, Julie Saito, Programme Specialist of Communication, UNESCO, Clemens Bomsdorf, journalist and correspondent for the Nordic countries, Torvald Jacobsson, Founding Director of TheGoals.org, Amine Ahlafi, FEE Board of Directors member, responsible for YRE, and Anne Vela-Wagner, Executive Director of the Wrigley Company Foundation. You can find more information on their profiles here. 

The Jury went through and discussed the top national entries in the media categories of articles, photographs and videos, across the age categories 11-14, 15-18, 19-21, as well as the new category; International Collaboration. The Jury then decided on this year's YRE International Competition winners, who will be shortly receiving prizes and distinctions for their entries. All entries can be found on the competition's Exposure page.

Here is a general comment from the Jury members; 

The members of YRE International Jury appreciated this year’s submissions for the YRE International Competition. The Jury members are especially impressed with the quality of submissions in younger age categories. Some of the submissions from younger age categories are well-made in terms of composition, structure, and technics. The Jury members also appreciated the submissions for the new category; International Collaboration. The Jury members hope to see more of this collaboration between students and youths in different countries.

The each first place winner will receive a prize of a laptop, camera or video camera according to the media category. The winning entries will also be published on Huffington Post kids as a prize. 

The winners for 2016 are:

Article

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Not to bee put aside
Author: Lovisa Kjell, Hildur Eriksson (Sweden)
"A very interesting approach. It is a wonderful piece with a great cover photo and a good ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) story. "

2nd Place
Title: Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Plastic Pollution Near and Far
Author: Sarah Goodstadt (Canada)

2nd Place
Title: Save Ksar El Kebir Gardens!
Author: Khadija Soussi, Omar El Bakri, Ghizlan Lanaya, Fatima Boudich, Khaoula Loumi and Zakaria Saydi (Morocco)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: Green Roofs – A new life to city’s monotony
Author: Angelina Grom’yak, Maria Cruz, Diogo Marques, Rodrigo Mateus, Pedro Barreira, Bárbara Machado (Portugal)
"It is well-researched and well-written with good amount of data."

2nd Place
Title: Coffee Pods - a Modern Trend or an Environmental Risk?
Author: Patrícia Beličková (Slovakia)

3rd Place
Title: Metempsychosis in a dustbin
Author: Marie Pouillaude (France)

19-21 years old

1st Place
Title: Clean water is the source of our lives
Author: Andrijana Arsić (Serbia)
"A good approach to the topic, and it shows the actual engagement. Interested in the implementation of actual actions."

2nd Place
Title: Impact of our railways
Author: Joana Pedro (Portugal)

3rd Place
Title: A Waste paper… a Lost Tree
Author: Ilham Derrez, Haitham Fathi, Ouiam Zeaimi, Wijdane Jouhari, Soukaina El Aouni, Diaeedine Dahmouch (Morocco)

Photograph

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Surprising and unexpected finding
Author: João Pedro Paour Carvalho (Portugal)
"It shows the effort to understand the problem, and the story is good and well-connected to the picture. The picture is beautiful. "

2nd Place
Title: Guilty Conscience
Author: Julia Scerri (Malta)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: "I live today hoping for a better tomorrow"
Author: Sonia Miheş (Romania)
"A great photo, horizon at an angle, smoke stack over shoulder, hands in pockets. It is a symbolic and eye-catching picture, and it delivers a strong message."

2nd Place
Title: Returned to sender by the waves!
Author: Kurt Micallef (Malta)

3rd Place
Title: We are Killiing Ourselves
Author: Lukáš Krnčok (Slovakia)

19-21 years old

1st Place
Title: Companionship
Author: Xue Fan (China)
"A nice and strong photo. Eye-catching. "

2nd Place
Title: The Last Call
Author: Ouijdane Chahdi, Mohamed Lwardi (Morocco)

3rd Place
Title: Gardens Bloom Once a Year…
Author: Irina Gavrilova (Kazakhstan)

Video

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Energy in water
Author: Ana Daniela Silva, Bruna Silva, Inês Rodrigues (Portugal)
"A great story and well-told. Reporters managed to view the issue objectively, particularly by pointing out what improvements are still lacking, while addressing the environmental benefit of this means of transportation."

2nd Place
Title: “Tale of ant and elephant”
Author: MUSTAFA EMİR KAYA, OĞUZ TOPAL, BARKIN CANOĞULLARI, BATIN GÖRKEM ÇOLAK, AZRA PEKGÖZ, ELİF NİSA BOYRAZ, BUĞRA MACUNCU, BİYÇE KORKMAZ, GÜLÇİN DİNÇ, CEYLİN AKIN (Turkey)

3rd Place
Title: Trees in Nová Dubnica
Author: Mária Jánošíková, Tamara Eliášová, Michal Mazánik (Slovakia)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: Bready steady sort in Blaise Pascal High School
Author: Axel Heitz-Retamal, Emma Plisson, Clémence Borgard, Eglantine Meriau, Delphine Millard, Damien Mouveau (France)
"A great story, many different elements but all interconnected. Good approach and it works well. Nice camera work and unique ending which makes this piece original."

2nd Place
Title: Collect Cooking Oil and Make a Difference
Author: Matej Majerský, Patrik Štefík (Slovakia)

3rd Place
Title: Plastic Pollution
Author: Mymoon Bhuiyan (Canada)

3rd Place
Title: One day as an environmental crook
Author: David Norberg, Elias Vernersson, Maja Jonsson, Julia Portin (Sweden)

19-21 years old

 No winners

International Collaboration

Honourable mention
Title: Bicycle: the vehicle for sustainable mentality
Author: Maria Carreira, Sharad Poudel, Martim Teixeira, Rita Costa, Kyriaki Hadjichambi, Katerina Papamiltiadous (Cyprus and Portugal) 
"Good research and arguments from different perspectives are described."

 

The meeting was concluded by a fruitful conversation on the developments in Young Reporters for the Environment, and how the programme and the competition itself can evolve in the future.

Call for action! Global Action Days 18-24 April

It is once again time for Young Reporters around the world to get your voices heard! 

The Global Action Days is a call for all students and teachers around the world to be active and share their actions on being more sustainable in our modern world. 

WHEN: 18-24 April 2016

Be creative and use your skills to deliver your opinions and thoughts in the best possible way! Please register yourself on Global Action Days website and share your action and stories on our Global Action Days Facebook page. 

UNESCO recognition of YRE

YRE programme has been recognised by UNESCO Green Citizen project as one of the best practices toward sustainable future, together with all other FEE programmes!

UNESCO 'Green Citizens' aims to show leaders, farmers, workers and the parents of tomorrow how crucial sustainable development is for the future of our societies. It is ultimately a communication platform, which highlights different success stories from around the world.

As part of our partnership with UNESCO, FEE has been asked to provide the Green Citizens project with information on the organisation and its programmes, good practices from National Operators, and information on the awards related to FEE.

Please check out the website for more information!

Young Reporters for the Environment 

 

Other FEE programmes

Blue Flag, Eco-Schools,  LEAF,  Green Key 

YRE International Competition is on the way!

YRE International competition is open to youth aged 11-21 in countries running the YRE programme. The competition is held annually to recognise the great work being done by motivated Young Reporters around the world. This year, the International Jury meeting will be held on 26 May at Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Head Office in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Jury consists of representatives from various international organisations. The result will be announced no later than 5 June, and the winners will receive recognition and prizes. 

The Competition includes the winners of the YRE National Competitions. Students participating in the YRE programme in each country have the right to participate in the National Competition. Students that enter and are selected as the national winners are put forward to the International Competition. Please contact the YRE National Operator in your country for more information on YRE National Competition. 

 

Remember last year?

Our Young Reporters for the Environment National Operators Meeting (NOM) is taking place very soon! This year we are gathering in Glasgow, Scotland on 26-28 February.

The meeting will be hosted by Keep Scotland Beautiful, FEE member organisation in Scotland. Thanks to their great effort, everything is in place and we are looking forward to another fantastic and productive NOM, this year.

National Operators from 22 YRE countries will participate, as well as guests and speakers from various organisations, from various countries. We are also expecting engagement of young people from Scotland, which will be a wonderful addition to our meeting.

We are all excited and really looking forward to seeing you all again for another fruitful NOM!!