UPDATE - Speaking Up for the Planet: 2 communication skills workshops instead of one just for you! Read more to get a place!

 The UK-based charity Speakers Trust are really excited to be able to offer you a free workshop! It's an opportunity to participate in a full-day communication skills workshop designed to help you speak out about climate change. In partnership with Climate Action, Race to Zero and COP26, this is an opportunity to develop your confidence and public speaking skills, write an impactful speech and be heard by decision-makers and a global community to inspire real change. This project is called "Speaking Up for the Planet".

The first session, which will take place on Thursday, the 18th of November from 9 am to 1 pm CEST is already full! But great news, since many of you wants to participate one more session will be held and some seats are still available! It will be split into two days to fit as many time zones as possible, on Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21th from 7 pm CEST to 9 pm CEST. It’s open to every Young Reporters aged from 14 to 25. Please not that if you register, you must be able to participate in the workshop and deliver your speech in English.

The workshop 

Participants will have a 4-hours communication skills workshop delivered by one of the UK charity Speakers Trust’s expert trainers. The trainer will take you through a series of fun, interactive exercises designed to boost your confidence and improve your speaking and listening skills. We will explore your opinions and responses to climate change and help you to articulate them clearly. The day culminates in every participant standing up and delivering a short speech about climate change and the environment. 

In a nutshell, the workshop will cover communication skills, giving and receiving feedback, listening skills, tips for impromptu speaking, and how to build a speech, develop the content, give it structure and then lots of focus on how to deliver a speech.

Getting voices heard

The workshop will be complemented by a comprehensive suite of online resources that will help you fine-tune your speech. Within or after the workshop, participants are invited to film their speech and submit it to the secure online Speakers Trust’s platform. Their team will review each entry and upload them to a unique site which will be accessible to people across the world - so you will be part of a truly global project. 

Competition

Later this year, their expert panel of judges will watch all of the submitted speeches and select a few to be shared at a high-profile event in early 2022.

Would you like to be one of the next YRE to make his/her voice heard even more? Do not hesitate and register through the following form. The deadline for registration is 15 November!!!

A webform by Podio - click here to get yours

The FEE international team will select students that will be chosen for the session. That is why you need to tell us why you want to be part of it.

October 1st-25th : International Collaboration Month!

Dear Schools, dear Teachers, dear Students,

If you want to participate to the YRE competition 2022 by collaborating with another country, this is the piece of news you have to read!

There are three ways to participate in the YRE International Competition:

• General YRE International Competition

• Litter Less Campaign Competition

• International Collaboration

The International Collaboration category is open to all countries with three recommended themes: environmental pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, and must be linked to chosen SDG(s). The submission must fulfil the criteria for its category “Article”, ”Photo Reportage of 3-5 photos”, or ”Video” and show significant collaborative work between two or more countries. It is open to the age categories 11-14, 15-18, and 19-25 years.

One question still reminds: how do one finds a match?

Nothing is simpler, if you are a school or a teacher who wants to participate with her/his students via the international collaboration’s way, fill in the following form. If you are a student, please ask your teacher and/or your National Operator to register (it is a question of GDPR). The validation of your registration will be done by the NO of your country and the FEE international Team will match schools and let you know about it at the beginning of November! This form is enabled from the 1st to the 25th of October:

Podio - CRM done right

Find inspiration thanks to these examples of Awarded Entries from 2021

1st Place (article 15-18 years)
Title: Unnoticed Danger: The Fashion Industry
Countries: Portugal and Turkey

2nd Place (article 15-18 years)
Title: How Can Traditional Watering Systems Help The Environment?
Countries: Portugal and Montenegro

3rd place (article 11-14 years)
Title: Honey bees are important members of a sustainable life
Countries: Turkey and Slovenia

Honourable mention (video 15-18 years)
Title: Different countries, same problem – Finding a solution for the pollution!
Countries: Portugal and Turkey

We Don't Have Time: a new platform for you to share your stories and make your voice heard even more!!

As YRE Hub, We Don’t Have Time gives you a platform to share your environmental actions and stories! Make your voice heard even more as a YRE who wants to make a difference!

Do you want businesses and world leaders to act on the climate crisis? We Don’t Have Time makes it easy for you to reach them. By joining the largest review platform on climate action, you can both share good examples of climate action with the world and be a part of a group of changemakers that put pressure on companies to act faster and take climate action. Have a dialogue with companies, world leaders and major organizations, for free. Download the We Don't Have Time app or visit our website and follow this guide to learn how.

We Don’t Have Time - new institutional partner of the YRE Programme

WeDontHaveTime.org is the world's largest review app for climate solutions. We offer you a platform to establish a climate dialogue with your stakeholders and influence the world together. Through the power of many, we influence politicians, businesses, and individuals to act on the climate crisis.

Institutional Partners — Young Reporters for the Environment (yre.global)

Media passes given to 4 YRE students to attend Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon from the 1st to the 4th of November!

4 YRE students from Portugal have been invited to attend Web Summit 2021 which will be back in Lisbon on November 1-4.

As their first physical event since 2019, Web Summit 2021 is going to be one of the biggest tech events in the world attended by many of the world's leading entrepreneurs, politicians, celebrities, investors, and media.

Speakers on the Agenda:

• Ursula von der Leyen - President, European Commission

• Brad Smith - President, Microsoft

• Antonio Costa - Prime Minister, Portugal

• Margrethe Vestager - Executive Vice President, A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, European Commission

• Peggy Johnson - CEO, Magic Leap

• Jen Wong - COO, Reddit

• Brittany Kaiser - Founder, Own Your Data Foundation

• Iker Casillas - World Cup winner, Spain

• Juergen Mueller - CTO, SAP

• Daniela Braga - Founder, DefinedCrowd

• Guillaume Pousaz - Founder and CEO, Checkout.com

• Clayton Ruebensaal III - CMO, American Express

• Roula Khalaf - Editor in chief, The Financial Times

• Dame Melanie Dawes - CEO, Ofcom

• Brian Tyler Cohen - Host of No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen

• Jager McConnell - CEO, Crunchbase

• Siyabulela Mandela - Director, Africa of Journalists for Human Rights

• Steven Galanis - Co-founder & CEO of Cameo

• Bastian Nominacher - Co-founder & Co-CEO of Celonis

• Joe Atkinson, CTO of PwC

• Zach Perret, CEO & Co-founder, Plaid

• Ondrej Vicek, CEO of Avast

• Gerard Pique, Footballer, FC Barcelona

• Markus Villig, Founder & CEO of Bolt

4 YREs; Catarina Semedo Madaíl de Oliveira, Luís Afonso Azevedo Martins, José Diogo Azevedo Martins, Ana Catarina Braga Hencleeday will be there and able to interview them!

Presentation of the YRE students:

“Born in Lisbon, in 1995. Graduated in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Master in Ecology and Environmental Management from the same institution in 2021. Even before graduating, I worked as a monitor and promoter of environmental education events, so the intervention with younger generations is particularly familiar to me, as well as the stimulus to prepare a society more aware of environmental issues. Currently I work as an Environment Technician at the European Blue Flag Association since 2020, following the YRE and Eco-Schools Programs.”

“Olá! My name is Catarina Semedo Oliveira and I am from Portugal. I’m a YRE since 2018, and I’ve been part of several national and international missions so far. Two examples are the Rock in Rio Lisboa Mission, in June 2018, and the International Mission in Coruche in April 2019. Being part of the Web Summit is both a challenge and a big responsibility, that I am excited to fulfil. This mission will be especially meaningful as I am putting together three big passions of mine: journalism, environment and technology.”

"I'm Diogo Martins, I'm 17 years old and I live in the north of Portugal, in the city of Braga. I'm a young reporter for the environment since I was 12 years old and I'm passionate about investigating and understanding the problems that surround us. I like to work collaboratively with idea sharing and social interactions and I'm a lover of basketball and manga series."

“Hi, I'm Luís, I'm 14 years old, I'm from Braga, a city in the North of Portugal. For over 3 years I've been involved in the young reporters  for the environment programme, which has brought me a lot of pleasure and unique opportunities to see the world in a different and proactive way. I take pleasure in editing videos and working on photographs. I practice skateboarding and have a passion for the rural world.”

Will you talk about the Green Deal with Ursula Von Der Leyen? Will you ask the FC Barcelona what are their green plans for the future? Will you discuss environment and climate change with Microsoft? Will you be able to interview the prime minister of Portugal to talk about ecological transition?

We are looking forward to watching your videos, looking at your photos and reading your stories on Exposure!!! Thank you very much Margarida (NO from Portugal) for mentoring them during this conference!

When a YRE submits her work to the Climate Change PIX competition and wins a prize...

This is the story of Íris Lilja Jóhannsdóttir from Iceland! Her work that won an honourable mention in the YRE Competition this year, was also submitted to the Climate Change PIX photo competition, hold by the European Environment Agency. And, environmental communication experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet), and the public have selected her work, as one of the six winners in the competition about the impacts of climate change in Europe and individual and societal climate action. The results were published on Monday, the 20st of September. Find out more here and under the picture!

“We are ruining the earth for our own short time happiness. We are licking up the earth, and it’s sweet resources just like ice cream. I want to show people what we are doing to the earth with a simple analogy. We need to take actions like the ones suggested in Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12 and 13. If we don’t stop licking the ice cream or if we just stop, the ice cream will melt. To stop the ice cream from melting we need to stop licking it and put it in the freezer. If we don’t want the earth and the life on it to die we need to stop consuming and producing so much at the earth’s cost. Let’s enjoy our sweet and beautiful earth responsibly.” - That is the caption you can read under the submission for the YRE Competition 2021: Iceland by YRE Competition - Exposure

The picture’s editing and the message behind are very strong. That also what the International Jury of the YRE competition highlighted: “The editing is so well done: good exercise, good campaign photo, good storytelling, great use of colour and composition. Congratulations! It is maybe fake but the message is great!!! It is creative, clear, striking, clever and executed very well! So simple and very effective. It tells the message: very strong and powerful graphic depicting man's anthropogenic consumption of the planet's natural resources. The melting ice cream also speaks to global warming. What about the rules of the competition? Honourable mention “only” because we wanted to highlight that it was very well done but go away from the rules. Congratulations again!”

We are so proud of our YRE! Good job!

Introduction to the Mini Litter Less Campaign: October 18 – 28, 2021

The Litter Less Campaign (LLC) is a joint project between Mars Wrigley Foundation and Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Running for 10 consecutive years (Phase I, II, III and IV) all around the globe, it underlines tangibly the importance of dealing with the issue of litter and waste.

The LLC aims to engage and educate students on the issues of litter and waste, encourage students to reduce their negative impact on the environment and raise awareness of litter and waste issues within their communities.

Find out more about the LLC here: About the Campaign — Young Reporters for the Environment (yre.global)

Starting from September 2021 all countries from the FEE network and organisations not members of FEE are invited to join activities, use the Treasure earth App and planned actions, share case stories on social media with the hashtag #litterlesscampaign, participate in the mini-competition and win prizes if there entries are submitted through FEE member organizations.

Online Launch Of Campaign

The campaign will be introduced to students, teachers and National Operators through a launch webinar on 21st September at 2-3pm CEST. During the webinar, we will introduce participants to the campaign, competition and share some interesting case stories from schools and students participating in the campaign.

Register for the launch here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81900893639

About the Campaign

The mini Litter Less L campaign  (#litterlesscampaign) is designed as a 10-days campaign in which seven actions promoting sustainable behaviour change of litter and waste need to be completed. The actions are easy to fulfil, short and can be adaptable to any context (e.g. as a lesson in school or activity in a youth group meeting). We generally recommend completing one action per school day from the 19th to the 27th, however, teachers and youth guides can freely adapt the number of actions completed per day to the context they work in.  

Find all actions and Help notes on this page: Mini Litter Less Campaign 2021 — Young Reporters for the Environment (yre.global)

Partnership with Now.Here and sharing on Social Media

FEE has partnered with Now.Here, a Singapore based company, who developed the Treasure Earth app. The values promoted by Now.here are aligned with the FEE’s values and the app allows teachers and students with access to the internet an easy way of carrying out the actions either individually or as a group. The app releases only one action per day but you will be able to find them on our social media as well.

Download the app on your phone!!

The activities require participants to post their thoughts, emotions, photos and videos (max 1 minute) in social media and/or in the Treasure Earth app. We strongly request that any posts carried out by participants will use the hashtag #litterlesscampaign!

Mini Litter Less Campaign Competition

The most challenging action is the ’Zero-waste Day’ (Action 5) where students try to live a whole day without producing waste at all. i.e. they can separate their waste but not produce new waste that goes to incineration or landfill. Students can have the opportunity to submit their ’Zero-waste’ 1-minute videos as entries to a Litter Less Mini competition also if they are not enrolled in the LEAF, YRE and Eco-Schools network.

Find out more about the competition and more by following the link: Mini Litter Less Campaign 2021 — Young Reporters for the Environment (yre.global)

The YRE Photo of the Year 2022 - The End of the World by Djordje Pejović from Montenegro

The Jury of the International YRE competition 2021 highlighted 3 photos this year: the Photo of the Year and two runners-up. Discover these amazing YRE works and the messages of the jury with:

• "The End of the World" by Djordje Pejović from Montenegro has been chosen as the Photo of the Year.

 “The skeletal image of a marooned, decaying rowboat on the dried-up and cracked surface of a seemingly dead lake, provides a powerful metaphor for the fate facing humanity if it fails to act swiftly on climate change. The subject, a boat, has often been seen as a way humans can sail away from their problems or escape to safer places. But the photo foresees a time when there maybe nowhere to go in a world where climate change has destroyed the very life support systems needed to survive, let alone thrive.

 2021 is meant to be the next moment for climate ambition. Five years after Paris UN Conference (now even six years because Covid intervened), nations are meant to raise their pollution reduction plans en route to a stable and safer 2050. Progress is happening, renewable energy for example is doubling world-wide every 4 years. But overall our actions are late, temperatures continue to rise, the science is sobering and we are fair and square in a climate and environmental emergency.

 But this photo is not about fear but about hope. It is one scary view of the future, but it should remind us that there is another one we can choose: One where leaders and societies mobilize and pull together to turn this ship—our wonderful blue planet—around so we can navigate humanity to a far safer harbour.  Everyone including each YRE, can play their part, to make a difference, and take action.

 The picture is about changing perceptions and waking us all up to what must be done. It is powerful, impactful, striking, and pulls no punches. That is why, we, the International Jury of the Competition, want this Photo to represent the YRE programme next year.”

• From Canada, Diya Dhaliwal’s and Anika Dass's picture entitled "Our world is slipping down the drain" has been highlighted by the International Jury of the YRE competition as a Runner-Up with a special message from our jury:

“The symbolism of this picture is wonderful. The media used, in particular: to have dirt, the actual earth arranged in such a way to represent the countries of the planet slipping down the drain and showing that things are falling apart — quite literally going down the drain... it is a very meaningful and clever symbolism for this photograph. Not having a person on it makes the message perhaps even more universal and meaningful. This picture has indeed something special, as it has never been seen in the YRE competition before. It looks like a fantastic, powerful poster concept. This kind of message, ominous as it may be, deserves props for its smart and artistic approach, and deserves to be recognized. That is why we, the International Jury of the Competition, highlight this Photo as a 2021 Photo of the Year Runner-Up.”

• After two photos marking a slightly more ominous mood, one with a slightly more upbeat tone. From Portugal, the second of Miguel Truta and Maria Truta's picture extracted from the reportage entitled "Hygienic strolls to “clean the garbage”" was highlighted by the International Jury of the YRE competition as a Runner-Up, with the following message:

“This photo brings depicts an uplifting story in these times of Covid-19, stating that we can all make a difference and take action — even under lockdown. It is a hopeful and positive message which captures the energy of the moment. It represents the YRE programme very well since we want to see young people to take action to improve their environment, and it also showcases the initiative of young women leaders all over the world. We have seen many photos like this, of course, but there is something about this young lady, her smile, her dedication, and her energy, that captured our attention, and provided a counterpoint to the other two photos in the Photo of the Year discussion. Here we highlight, for a bit of a positive outlook, hopeful messaging and the yearn to act. That is why we, the International Jury of the Competition, are also highlighting this as a 2021 Photo of the Year Runner-up.”

3rd International Conference on sustainability education in India: FEE is holding 2 sessions and 6 Malaysian and Indian YREs are covering the event

From the 9th to the 10th of September 2021

The International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE) is planned to explore pathways to address current and emerging sustainability challenges through education by empowering learners with new skills, values and attitudes that lead to a sustainable world.

Due to COVID – 19 which brought huge disruption particularly in every educational setup, it becomes a necessity to try out several new and innovative online, virtual and distance teaching learning initiatives as new normal. In tune with that it was decided to conduct ICSE-2021 (as what we have done in 2020) through virtual mode as a two days webinar on following topics:

• Day 1: Education for Ecosystem Restoration

• Day 2: Climate Literacy

FEE is holding two sessions: one is about Education for Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Coastal Areas, the other is about Education for Advancing Circular Economy. FEE is recognized there through 2 of its 5 programmes which are respectively Blue Flag and Eco-Schools. Johann Durand is holding the first session as international Blue Flag coordinator. Pramod Kumar Sharma is holding the second one as senior director of education.

What is more impressive are the 6 Indian students who are covering the event on site as Young Reporters for the Environment. Let’s discover who they are!

Miss Nur Ameera Asyiqin Binti Khairul Anuar, 20 years old is from Kolej Profesional Mara Indera Mahkota, Sg. Buloh, Selangor. She is a young reporter who is enthusiastic about nature and believes that every voice projected in every corner of the planet about the environment should be heard. She envisions the empowerment of young people can lead the world into a more pristine environment one day.

She believes  Journalism is something that she is passionate about. Many people think that the process of making a piece of news is easy but it actually takes a lot of processes including researches, interviews, and fact-checks. A journalist should always be in the front line in any situation that could make to news so that the message can be conveyed in a matter of time and people could get the information in an instant. Journalism is very important especially in this enduring time because if the news like the number of covid19 cases is not informed to the media, people are hard to plan a precautious measure to lessen the risk.

Miss Amritha Jaiprekash Kurup, Age: 19, Currently pursuing 3rd year of BSc Zoology from Madras Christian College, Chennai, India.

Doing reporting on butterfly species locally and an area specifically. She is engaged in promoting and commercializing butterfly gardening on her campus and planning to expand to the local area in and around Chennai and she is a nature and wildlife conservation enthusiast. Photography, report writings are some of her other hobbies.

She believes  Words seek out the attention of huge crowds along with virtual representation. To pool in people to act on the restoration of the ecosystem as a whole and for maximum people’s participation, educating and enlightening them on the anthropogenic influences and events of disaster that are yet to happen can lure in-crowd for mass action. As a science major, She thinks journalism can accelerate the process of active participation as local laymen will get to know the crisis and consequences that have to be faced if we remain ignorant. Also, the liability and responsibility as a citizen to protect the ground we stand, our nature and resources and the sustainable living strategies to be taken up effectively and profusely, to better the future and to continue developmental procedures more palatable and ecofriendly, awareness is a must and inevitable stand in conservation and restoration alike. According to the UNESCO model for curricula for journalism education is emerging actively with various ideas for including different types of journalism especially that of eco-journalism. the empirical correlation of media, journalism, and independence is driving the sustainability acts to reach the greater population for acceptance and activation. there comes the role of youth drivers for sustainability and eco-restoration, where people like her can entice in more people for saving the planet much inordinate devastation. According to her the goal of sustainability is cohesive conscious of having a healthy interaction with nature at all levels of life.

Mister Bhargav Patel is 22 years old. He is a software engineer at Truminds Software Systems in India working mainly on the machine learning experts of the project. He is also a co-founder of the Environment Club, a student community that focuses on educating students about environmental issues and solutions in a fun way. His area of interest is artificial intelligence, resource optimization, sustainable development, and green technology. He has been involved with many different environmental and leadership initiatives in his university and he enjoys learning about sustainability and how technology can be used to achieve sustainable development. In 2019, he was given the opportunity to travel to Thailand to participate in the 10th World Environmental Education Congress as a YRE. He is working in the direction to build a career that combines technology and the environment.

He Believes without journalism, the world would be ignorant. Journalism is important because it gives current and relevant information and news to the public. Benjamin Franklin said, “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by judging the freeness of speech.”

Miss Lavinia Grace Sebastian, 20 years old is from Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), Pahang, Malaysia. She is a young reporter who aspires to find interesting stories to share with the public. She believes that there are many things to learn about the world and that everyone can benefit from a widened perspective of the world.

She believes that Journalism is the act of gaining first-hand knowledge to be shared with the world. Besides that, Journalism is important to highlight issues because the right amount of media coverage can make a huge change and impact on society and the public. In many ways, journalism brings to light the stories of the voiceless.

Miss Mohini Arora, 19 years old, a resident of Jammu, currently pursuing an undergraduate course in Journalism at Bharati College, Delhi University. She is a part of ' Chintan: The debating society' while being a Command Level Debate speaker. Reading novels is her hobby and welcoming the world with open arms is her inculcated personality trait. 

She believes Journalism is the study and later a profession that gives rise to objective information for the public to formulate their opinion in a more verified manner. It also releases contention between right and wrong ideology with facts and figures. It is essential in highlighting every issue whether small or huge as it provides a platform for to citizens in placing their views over the table. Sometimes investigative journalism can lead the wrongdoers to capital punishment and the innocents to justice.

Miss Nishita Agarwal, 16 years old, a resident of the Gujarat state, is currently a student of Apple Global School studying in the Medical Field. Co-founder of the Green Crusaders Club and an author; published the book: 'The Journey of an Assassin. Writing novels, poetry, and analyzing different art forms are my hobbies, and analyzing a situation in every aspect is an included personality trait.

She believes Journalism is an efficient way to spread awareness on a particular issue. For her, journalism has been a medium to focus on topics from a logical and factual perspective. It has proven to be very useful to bring public attention to a matter as journal writing provides ground evidence and facts regarding the same.

It is an absolute necessity to highlight an issue. Only humanity has the power to create and resolve obstacles; the responsibility of our survival and wellbeing relies solely on us. If environmental, economic, educational, social, health and hygiene, political, and many other related issues are neglected, the human race will face severe consequences.

Find out more about the conference and its programme by clicking here.

Call for videos from young YRE professionals – Promotion of Global Forest Fund

 Introduction 

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is looking for young professionals, especially from the network of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programme, to create videos for Global Forest Fund (GFF). 

The aim of the videos it is to support the Global Forest Fund’s efforts to become the number one online travel carbon offsetting scheme globally, hence mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and loss of biodiversity.  

FEE is the world's largest environmental education organisation, with members in 77 countries. Through our five ground-breaking programmes, FEE empower people to take meaningful and purposeful action to help create a more sustainable world. As support for its programmes, FEE re-launched the Global Forest Fund in 2019 as a unique carbon compensation initiative that allows businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint by providing valuable resources and environmental education to communities around the world. Travellers can use the Global Forest Fund web platform to calculate their carbon emissions across a range of transport options, and compensate for those emissions by donating to tree-planting and environmental training projects, that help mitigate climate change and protect global biodiversity.  

Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programme aims at empowering youth to raise awareness about environmental issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution.  YRE will use the opportunity to create awareness amongst YRE network on the issue of travel related emissions.  

The call 

YRE proposes an international video competition with the theme “Global Forest Fund – Makes the World a Better Place” open for YRE individuals or groups of students of 16 years of age and older. It aims to produce a set of 10 high-quality videos (1-2 minutes in length) promoting the GFF making it an attractive tool for people, organisations and businesses wanting to offset their carbon emissions. 

The procedure for the competition will be as follows: 

1. The call for videos is announced 7th September 2021. 

1. Interested candidates will submit a 2-page concept note (Annex 1) for either a campaign or a story-telling video by 29th September. The concept note should be sent to shimon@fee.global and include “Global Forest Fund Makes the World a Better Place” in the Subject of the e-mail. 

1. YRE International will review and contact the 10 best applicants by 15th October.  

1. YRE International will conduct a webinar medio October to introduce the applicants to the task whereafter the 10 applicants will receive 200 EUR each to work on the video production. 

1. The applicants will work on their videos independently.  

1. YRE International will conduct 1-3 meetings with each applicant to discuss details of the video.  

1. Applicants will submit their videos by 30th November 2021 on Podio with the help of the YRE National Operator in their country. 

1. YRE staff from YRE International will review the videos according to Annex 2 and award 700 EUR for the best three by 20th December 2021. 

1. The videos will be disseminated to the wider public by YRE staff through the GFF and YRE websites and social media channels. 

The videos – scope 

Two types of videos can be submitted to the competition, both aim to raise awareness of climate change, promote the values of responsibility and accountability and inspire the use of GFF as a solution for carbon offsetting.  

30 seconds to one-minute campaign video – a video that focuses mainly on attracting viewers to the GFF website for making a donation. It does so by direct advertisement of the GFF that is based on attractive title and description, a clear call to action – go to the GFF Website and engage! 

Two-minute story-telling video – a video that focuses mainly on telling the story of the GFF, promote GFF values (Branding it) and ends in a call for visiting the GFF website to know more and use the calculator.  This video should evoke positive association feelings towards the GFF among viewers. Similar to mini-documentary, the story-telling video is based on news, events, history, facts etc., and may use elements of direct observation, research, interviews and documentation. 

Further information 

Please contact Shimon (shimon@fee.global) or Gosia (gosia@fee.global) should you have questions about the competition. 

• Annexes

PRESS RELEASE - Winners of the International YRE Competition 2021

The finalists of the 2021 Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) International Competition have now been assessed by the International Jury, and the awarded entries have been selected. Over 454,000 students participated in the YRE programme this year, and they produced over 19,000 pieces of environmental journalism for national YRE competitions. The number and quality of entries reflects the continued motivation and dedication of YRE students around the world despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The entries awarded this year showcase YRE students’ great journalistic talent and a deep understanding of the complex environmental issues affecting their local communities. The International Jury has based their assessment on the students’ topic selection, their reflections on how the topic connects to the Sustainable Development Goals and their overall journalistic skills. The awarded entries represent some of the top youth environmental journalism in the world today.  

This year’s YRE entries continue to demonstrate the challenges and hopeful solutions youth from around the world are addressing in their communities. The pandemic’s impact was apparent, and the urgency needed to address the climate crisis was resonant, as captured in the photo of the year. It is never an easy task to select winners from the thoughtful entries received. All of the YRE students deserve to be recognized for their passion and dedication and encouraged to continue to raise awareness and take action.   

- Anne-Vela-Wagner,
Executive Director of Mars Wrigley Foundation
and YRE Jury Member.

The YRE International Competition would not be possible without the hard work of our YRE National Operators, whose inspiring efforts have enabled thousands of teachers and students to participate in this year’s competition. It is humbling to see this level of engagement, which empowers more students every year to take an active role in the future of their communities.

This year’s International YRE Jury

This year’s International Jury meeting took place virtually from the 31st of August to the 2nd of September. The jury has assessed each shortlisted entry thoroughly, and awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, as well as Honourable mentions, based on their technical quality, level of investigation, originality, and dissemination. The International Jury represents expertise across a wide spectrum of fields, and consists of professionals in environmental journalism, corporate social responsibility and Education for Sustainable Development.

"Learning about the impacts of climate change is the first step to take action. The Young Reporters for the Environment competition is an inspiring way of raising awareness about our most pressing environmental challenges and engaging young reporters in the search for solutions. Through investigative reporting, creative campaigns and multimedia storytelling, the winners of this year's YRE competition prove that nothing is stopping young people from demanding a clean and sustainable future for all."

– Ignacio de los Reyes,
digital communications strategist,
 lead of Voices of Youth, UNICEF's platform for young content creators.
and YRE Jury member

List of Jury Members 2021:

• Bernard Combes - UNESCO

• Anne Vela-Wagner – Mars Wrigley Foundation

• Christopher Slaney - Freelance Journalist

• Siiri Mäkelä - UNEP, Kenya

• P.J. Marcellino - Portuguese-Canadian filmmaker, and a former YRE. Head of Development, Anatomy of Restlessness Films. Founder, Baobab Film Collective

• Sasha Karajovic, Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Executive
  Board member with responsibility for YRE, Montenegro

• Nick Nuttall - the International Strategic Communications Director of EARTHDAY.ORG and a Director at the climate social platform We Don’t Have Time

• Adriána Henĉeková - journalist student

• Mark Terry - Executive director of the Youth Climate Report, a partner program of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• Ignacio de los Reyes - digital communications expert managing Voices of Youth, UNICEF's digital platform

Find detailed information about each Jury Member here.
 

About the International YRE Competition

All entries competing in the YRE International Competition have been awarded 1st place in their respective countries’ National YRE competitions earlier this year. The entries are divided into three age groups (11-14, 15-18 and 19-25) as well as three media categories (articles, photos and videos). There is also a special category for International Collaboration. YRE students in countries participating in the Litter Less Campaign have the opportunity to submit entries concerned with litter and waste issues, which have been assessed separately. All entries have been uploaded on the YRE Competition’s Exposure page. You can also find all shortlisted videos in the UN's Youth Climate Report map. The winners of the competition will receive diplomas and will be published on different international medias, forums, environmental conferences and sessions.

The International YRE Competition winners for 2021 are:

Article, 11-14 years

1st Place
Title: Shimmering Dust
Country: Latvia

2nd Place
Title: The dark and murky messaging of the major watch brands
Country: Switzerland

3rd Place
Title: What the pandemic packed for us
Country: Slovakia

Honourable Mention
Title: Love protects Sinjajevina
Country: Montenegro

Article, 15-18 years

1st Place
Title: Avian inhabitants of the housing estates
Country: Slovakia

2nd Place (shared)
Title: Construction waste and dangerous waste – here on our backyard
Country: Israel

Title: Turning off the lights at night
Country: Switzerland

Article, 19-25 years

1st Place
Title: The north textile industry, the ideal network for inventing sustainable and responsible fashion
Country: France

2nd Place
Title: Villages at the foot of Luštek landfill inspire the whole Slovakia
Country: Slovakia

Honourable mentions
Title: “Moulay ali natural bathes” ... a natural healing water source that is not rationally used to support the community development of “awlad Stoute”
Country: Morocco

Title: Montijo: An Option For The Future Or An Announced Crime?
Country: Portugal

Single Photo Reportage, 11-25 years

1st Place
Title: The end of the world
Country: Montenegro

Honourable Mentions
Title: Hope
Country: Malta

Single Photo Campaign, 11-25 years

1st Place
Title: Our World is Slipping Down the Drain
Country: Canada

2nd Place
Title: Disposable Masks’ Double flight
Country: Portugal

Honourable Mention
Title: Sweet destruction
Country: Iceland

Photo Reportage of 3-5 Photos, 11-25 years

1st Place
Title: The waste collecting woman who is no waste.
Country: Ghana

2nd Place
Title: The Scythe for Life
Country: Slovakia

Video, 11-14 years

1st Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: Old Companions
Country: Slovakia

2nd Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: How to consume more responsibly?
Country: France

3rd Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: A valley behind Bars
Country: Israel

Honourable Mention (as Reportage Video)
Title: Create & Respect
Country: Portugal

Video, 15-18 years

1st Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: Warehouse vs. Wetland
Country: Canada

2nd Place (as Campaign Video)
Title: Toys Upcycling: A New Life for Toys
Country: Republic of Korea

3rd Place (as Campaign Video)
Title: Returnable bottle campaign
Country: Turkey

Video, 19-25 years

1st Place shared
(as Reportage Video)
Title: Green in blue jeans
Country: France

(as Campaign Video)
Title: Fast fashion dining
Country: Scotland

Honourable Mention (as Campaign Video)
Title: Where does your snack come from
Country: Slovenia

International Collaboration

1st Place (article 15-18 years)
Title: Unnoticed Danger: The Fashion Industry
Countries: Portugal and Turkey

2nd Place (article 15-18 years)
Title: How Can Traditional Watering Systems Help The Environment?
Countries: Portugal and Montenegro

3rd place (article 11-14 years)
Title: Honey bees are important members of a sustainable life
Countries: Turkey and Slovenia

Honourable mention (video 15-18 years)
Title: Different countries, same problem – Finding a solution for the pollution!
Countries: Portugal and Turkey

Litter Less Campaign Category:

Article, 11-14 years

1st Place
Title: Cat food packaging: exposed
Country: New Zealand

Article, 15-18 years

1st Place
Title: Is sustainability a joke?
Country: Malta

Article, 19-25 years

-

Single Photo Reportage, 11-25 years

1st Place
Title: Trapped
Country: New Zealand

Single Campaign Photo, 11-25 years

1st place
Title: The bottle fish
Country: Malta

Photo story (3-5 photos), 11-25 years

-

Video, 11-14 years

1st Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: YRE Rural Litter Report
Country: Ireland

Video, 15-18 years

1st Place (as Reportage Video)
Title: Open-hearted to the oceans
Country: France

Video, 19-25 years

-

Congratulations to all winners!!!

About Foundation for Environmental Education

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is the world's largest environmental education organisation, with members in 77 countries around the world. Through its five ground-breaking programmes, FEE empowers people to take meaningful and purposeful action to help create a more sustainable world. FEE is recognised as a world leader in the fields of Education for Sustainable Development, environmental education and sustainable tourism.

One week, one international climate conference, one YRE in action: let's follow Floriane Marié in her adventure

Floriane Marié is a French student (in her last year degree at Sciences Po Toulouse) who will get the chance to take part in her second international conference as a young Reporter for the environment. 

Last year she reported, from the collision from home conference 2020 edition,  where she had the opportunity to attend a great variety of speeches from top standard speakers, and conducted interviews with different environmental change makers. Her second take away of this event was the possibility to create a special virtual bound with other international YRE students who also reported from the conference. They shared their different experience as YREs, while finding each others on the same environmental and social values. 

Since Friday, the 3rd of September, she is back again behind her screen to follow the 1 week event of the World environmental congress organised by the IUCN. Floriane already has a special attachment to this event as it will be taking place in Marseille, where she already worked with the municipality on different sustainable projects. She heard from the event already last year, as she was following the journey of one of her inspiring environmentalist friend in her engagement in the European trial of nature's rights for the defence of aquatic ecosystems. The civilian court heard and decided five emblematic cases concerning aquatic ecosystems on the margins. On Saturday 4th at the IUCN, her friend, alongside different environmental organizations, will present the final verdict of the trials in Marseille at the IUCN congress. Hearing this amazing commitment and curious to see what would be the reaction and the engagement of policymaker hearing the final words of the civilian court, Floriane wanted to report from this specific session but also all the fabulous speeches and workshop that will be proposed during this one week event. After speaking to the YRE program coordinators, she directly wrote to the IUCN organizers and a few days later she received her press accreditation !

The IUCN congress got delayed by a year due to sanitary condition and take place this year with a innovative semi physical and digital organization. Unfortunately, Floriane will not be able to be at the different pavilions in Marseille chasing the right people to interview along the venue, but the online platform hosting the event gives her the possibility to network with other journalists, young environmentalists and changemakers. For one week it will be a heavy program with a dozen of sessions everyday and hopefully interviews that she will be able to conduct and post on. Do not forget to keep posted on social media and YRE Hub to follow her week!

No doubt that the special energy that emerges from this Mediterranean capital will lead stakeholders to fruitful debates to continue making a change for climate ambitions. 

New partnership with Global Waste Cleaning Network

FEE has become member of The Global Waste Cleaning Network!

GWCN is an international non-profit network comprised of NGOs, educational institutions, and private and public sector companies, that are active and interested in environmental issues related to the management and reduction of waste in the world, and the conservation of the oceans, coastlines, lands and atmosphere.

This partnership means that all FEE members can have access to its resources, webinars, and conferences. Its network spreads environmental literature and knowledge thanks to its Research Center. It is served by PhDs and researchers from around the world writing articles on about 20 environmental and energy areas of specialization, global and/or with focus on specific geographical regions and countries. The research center is in partnership with the eminent School of Water, Energy and Environment of Cranfield University in the UK.

We will also gain visibility through its website. Our activities will be featured there.

Thanks to this partnership, our network has also access to environmental events and grant opportunities. Do not hesitate to contact FEE Head Office for more information!

More precisely

GWCN is a fast growing organization focused on Environment Protection & Green Energy; subjects which are of serious importance to the habitants on planet Earth. They are at the forefront of growing a solid platform and thriving network of environment and energy companies, NGOs, and institutions, both private and public, which are actively involved in environmental issues, advocating carbon reduction and waste management of all kinds, i.e., solid, liquid, and gaseous waste, which adversely impact lives, flora and fauna and ecosystems.

YRE Statistics 2021

YRE Competition: Vote for your favourite and help them to highlight their amazing work!

This year, we have received 229 submissions from 35 countries! They are all impressive and creative works from the young people.  

After meticulous pre-selection by a professional team from FEE Head Office, we are now sending out these shortlisted entries for the International Jury to decide the winners for different groups. 

Simply by clicking the “Enjoy” button on the upper right corner and sharing it with your friends. You have five votes at most for each entry! Enjoy the beautiful works, find your favourite, and help them to highlight their amazing work! 

The winners of the YRE International Competition 2021 will be selected by the Jury and announced at the beginning of September 2021.  

Good luck to all and congratulations to shortlisted stories!  

Links to list of shortlisted stories :

ARTICLES 11-14 YEARS 

Canada, The Healthcare Industry Saves Lives while Killing the Planet, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/canada-30  

 Latvia, Shimmering Dust, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/latvia-8?source=share-YREcompetition  

Montenegro, Love protects Sinjajevina, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-39  

Morocco, DAR BOUAZZA LAKE: BIODIVERSITY IN PERIL, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/morocco-36?source=share-YREcompetition  

Romania, How much do disposable masks actually cost us? https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/romania-16?source=share-YREcompetition 

Slovakia, What the pandemic packed for us, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-40  

Switzerland, The dark and murky messaging of the major watch brands, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/switzerland  

ARTICLES 15-18 YEARS 

France, Education at ecology's bedside, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-39 

Israel, Construction waste and dangerous waste – here on our backyard, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/israel-37?source=share-YREcompetition 

Ireland, How Climate Smart are our Smartphones?  https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/ireland-7 

Latvia, Microplastic - a small piece of a big problem, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/latvia-5?source=share-YREcompetition 

Switzerland, Turning off the lights at night, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/switzerland-1 

Slovakia, Avian inhabitants of the housing estates, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-39 

The Czech Republic, WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT – OUR APPEARANCE, OR OUR PLANET’S?, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/the-czech-republic-4?source=share-YREcompetition 

Romania, What do we do when the forest is destroyed?, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/romania-17?source=share-YREcompetition 

Portugal, Your Used Mask Can Be Valued, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-60 

ARTICLES 19-25 YEARS 

France, The north textile industry, the ideal network for inventing sustainable and responsible fashion, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-32?source=share-YREcompetition 

Montenegro, Asphalt plant – Pljevlja’s new ecocidal phase, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-41 

Morocco, “MOULAY ALI NATURAL BATHES” ... A NATURAL HEALING WATER SOURCE THAT IS NOT RATIONALLY USED TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF “AWLA, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/morocco-34?source=share-YREcompetition 

Wales, Plastics and the Pandemic, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/wales-13 

Slovakia, Villages at the foot of Luštek landfill inspire the whole https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-42 

Portugal, Montijo: An Option For The Future Or An Annouced Crime? https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-59 

Single Photo reportage 

Mauritius, Evidence of rising sea temperatures: Algae proliferation in coastal regions., https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/mauritius-2?source=share-YREcompetition 

Montenegro, The end of the world, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-42 

Portugal, Lichens and a Healthy Looking School, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-62 

Slovakia, Lost Paradise, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-44 

Spain, Blinding Commercial Lights, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/spain-30?source=share-YREcompetition 

India, Unconditional bonding: life on land matters , India by YRE Competition - Exposure

Single Photo Campaign  

Canada, Our World is Slipping Down the Drain, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/canada-32 

Latvia, True emotions of the Baltic sea, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/latvia-6?source=share-YREcompetition 

Iceland, Sweet destruction, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/iceland-2 

Malta, A mission to reduce emission, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-57 

Portugal, Disposable Masks’Double, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-55 

Slovakia, Cycle, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-43 

Photo reportage consisting of 3-5 photos 

Ghana, The waste collecting, woman who is no waste, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/ghana-9?source=share-YREcompetition 

Latvia, Don`t oversalt soup as well as Riga`s streets, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/latvia-7?source=share-YREcompetition 

Montenegro, Hope collectors, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-44 

Romania, The last „Swan Song”, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/romania-18?source=share-YREcompetition 

Portugal, Hygienic Strolls To “Clean The Garbage”, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-58 

Slovakia, The Scythe for LIfe, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-41 

India,  Organic Health, INDIA by YRE Competition - Exposure

VIDEO REPORTAGE 11-14 YEARS 

France, How to consume more responsibly? https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-43?source=share-YREcompetition 

Israel, A Valley behind Bars, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/untitled-story-36?source=share-YREcompetition 

Portugal, Create & Respect, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-57 

Slovakia, Old Companions, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-45 

Sweden, Plastic Pollution in the Ocean, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/sweden-19?source=share-YREcompetition 

VIDEO REPORTAGE 15-18 YEARS 

Argentina, The Land Business, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/argentina-7?source=share-YREcompetition; 

Canada, Warehouse vs. Wetland, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/canada-28 

Israel, The consumption culture in an changing world, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/israel-42?source=share-YREcompetition 

Malta, Il-Qabru,  https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-52 

Montenegro, The Forgotten Duchess of the Adriatic, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-46 

Republic of Korea, Toys Upcycling: A New Life for Toys, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/republic-of-korea-15?source=share-YREcompetition 

Turkey, RETURNABLE BOTTLE CAMPAIGN, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/turkey-35 

VIDEO REPORTAGE 19-25 YEARS 

France, Green in blue jeans, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-33?source=share-YREcompetition 

Scotland, Fast Fashion Dining, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/scotland-15 

Slovakia, Food Waste at Home: A Problem with Solutions, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovakia-46 

Slovenia, Where does your snack come from? https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/slovenia-3?source=share-YREcompetition 

International collaboration 

Montenegro, Turkey, Video, Cooperation between generations, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/montenegro-turkey-1 

Portugal, Turkey, Article, Unnoticed Danger: The Fashion Industry, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-turkey 

Portugal, Turkey, Article, The Sea Starts Here, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/untitled-story-33 

Portugal, Montenegro, Article, How Can Traditional Watering Systems Help The Environment?,  https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/portugal-montenegro-5 

Portugal, Turkey, Video, Different countries, same problem – Finding a sollution for the polution!, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/untitled-story-35 

Turkey, Slovenia, Article, HONEY BEES ARE IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF A SUSTAINABLE LIFE, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/turkeyslovenia 

Turkey, Portugal, Video, ONE BIRD, ONE WORLD, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/turkeyportugal 

LLC ARTICLES 11-14 YEARS 

France, Stop plastic!, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-40?source=share-YREcompetition 

New Zealand, Cat Food Packaging, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/new-zealand-19?source=share-YREcompetition 

Wales, How has the pandemic affected the use of single use plastics?, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/wales-12 

LLC ARTICLES 15-18 YEARS 

France, Act in the present to save our future, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-37?source=share-YREcompetition 

Malta, Is sustainability a joke?, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-53 

New Zealand, Chews a Better Future, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/untitled-story-21?source=share-YREcompetition 

India, Is the Mawlynnong model truly difficult to follow?, India by YRE Competition - Exposure

LLC Single photo campaign 

Malta, The Bottled Fish, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-56 

New Zealand, Replaced, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/new-zealand-24/ 

Spain, Think, the world is not TV, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/spain-39 

Wales, Nearly Made It, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/wales-14 

LLC Single photo reportage 

Malta, Hope, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-59 

New Zealand, Trapped, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/new-zealand-21 

Spain, GARBAGE AND WASTE NEXT, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/spain-37 

LLC Photo reportage consisting of 3-5 photos 

Malta, Rainbow of uses, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-58 

New Zealand, Glad Wrap is Bad Wrap, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/new-zealand-23?source=share-YREcompetition 

LLC VIDEOS 11-14 YEARS 

France, The future of food waste at St Marie's middle school, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-41?source=share-YREcompetition 

Ireland, YRE Rural Litter Report, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/ireland-8 

Malta, My mask - I care, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-50 

Wales, Don't bin the bag, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/wales-16 

 India, My compost story, INDIA by YRE Competition - Exposure

LLC VIDEOS 15-18 YEARS 

Malta, No to junk mail, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-51 

France, Open-hearted to the oceans, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/france-38?source=share-YREcompetition 

Wales / Spain / Lebanon, How can we reduce plastic across the World?, https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/wales-spain-lebanon 

India, Littering is not our culture, INDIA by YRE Competition - Exposure

LCC VIDEO 19-25 YEARS 

India, Keep it glassy!, INDIA by YRE Competition - Exposure

Entries are presented in random order.

Congratulations to all!

FEE Academy: Maltese Students First to Receive Young Photojournalist Certificates!

It’s been just over three months since we first opened the Photography for Photojournalism course on FEE Academy and it’s been great to see how many students (and teachers) from different parts of the world have signed up to give it a try!

“I really enjoyed doing this course because I learned how to take photos in a professional manner. I encourage other students to take this course as this will help them to learn new skills which is fun to do online and it's free of charge.” - Yasmin Micallef, YRE Malta Student

A big ‘Congratulations!’ from the YRE International Team to the first participants to successfully complete the course and receive their Young Photojournalist certificates; YRE Malta students, including Yasmin Micallef, Jasmine Geriwa and Hannah Mharam Mercieca and their teachers Beverley Micallef, Rebecca Ellul, Joseph Pavia, and Nadine Parnis from St. Margaret College, Cospicua Girls' Learning Support Centre! In particular, we’d like to acknowledge the time and effort put in by Ms. Beverley Micallef, who went through the course with her students and created some fantastic presentations to accompany parts of the course. These presentations will be made available in upcoming versions of the course. Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who has provided feedback for the photography course! It has been incredibly helpful in perfecting the course and making sure it runs smoothly.  

As you can see from the images below, the highlight has been seeing students getting outside with their cameras and finding new angles from which to explore their environment! Not only that, but students also get a chance to submit an original photograph of theirs for the ‘Practice YRE Competition’ activity. It’s a chance to practice nailing that catchy title, writing a description and caption and sending a message! On the left is a great example from YRE Malta student Kezayah.

“During this course I enjoyed mostly doing the quizzes and learning about photography skills.” - Jasmine Geriwa, YRE Malta Student

As of today, almost 300 people have signed up to FEE Academy with most learners coming from the UK, New Zealand, Portugal and Malta and over 120 people have enrolled in the Photography for Photojournalism course from YRE. The current round of the photography course ends on April 30th, but don’t worry - we’ll be re-opening a new and improved version at the end of June! 

Don’t want to wait until June to try a FEE Academy course?  On May 5th we’re launching the brand-new course “Strategies to Advance Circular Economy”! To get started, create an account on FEE Academy.  

Happy learning! 

• The YRE International Team 

Trash Hack Campaign Winners Announced!

The Trash Hack Campaign in collaboration with UNESCO is now finished and we received almost 500 entries from FEE programmes around the world! We want to thank everyone involved, this would not have been possible without our amazing network of active National Operators, teachers and students.

Since the campaign was in collaboration with UNESCO ASPnet, some of the best Trash Hacks will be featured on their website and be part of the global Trash Hack celebrations in May 2021 for the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development!

Our National Operators were invited to assess the entries and these are the results…

1st Place:

Pack your packages away!   
Portugal, Escola Profissional Amar Terra Verde

2nd Place:

Juice boxes used for lunch turned into waste bins       
Ghana, St K Michael’s School

3rd Place:

# TRASH HACK CAMPAIGN  
India, Delhi Public School Jamnagar

Special Mentions:

Based on our National Operators votes, we would also like to highlight these entries:

Green campaign Trash Hack              
China, Utahloy International School Guangzhou

Little ecologists   
România, Grădinița cu Program Prelungit ”Toldi” Salonta           

FROM OLD RUBBER TO GARDEN SETS          
Montenegro, Elementary school "Narodni heroj Savo Ilić" Kotor    

Keep Trash Hacking!

UNESCO is inviting everyone involved in the campaign to the 11 May 2021 Webinar “Celebrate Your Trash Hacks: Webinar for sharing, inspiring and calling for change”, together with the Foundation for Environmental Education.

This online event presents an opportunity for everyone involved in the campaign to come together and celebrate their Trash Hacks, share some good practice examples and encourage others to act.

The online event will take place on 11 May 2021 from 1.30-3.00pm CET (see your local time here).

Simultaneous translation between English – French – Spanish will be provided.

Here are some pictures from students’ Trash Hacks:

Brave New Frontiers for Young Reporters

YRE alumni heading to the red planet... Kind of.

Two Young Reporters alumni will be incorporating the crew of MDRS Mission #238 at the Mars Analog Research Station in Hanksville, Utah, starting on January 2nd, 2022. The re-scheduled mission will take place one year later than projected, following a prolonged pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated travel restrictions, and public health concerns.

MDRS is one of four Mars-analog research stations currently managed by the Mars Society, an American space-advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the human exploration and settlement of Mars. In addition to the MDRS unit located in the Utah Desert, other stations exist in locations with geological and climatological conditions analogous to the red planet’s, namely in Canada’s Nunavut Arctic region, in the Australian Desert, and in Iceland.

In the 1990s, the project Biosphere 2 in the Arizona Desert had made an early (failed) attempt at habitat development, as depicted in the film Spaceship Earth. Nowadays, the Mars Society is one of a handful of international non-profits running a dozen Mars-analog habitats around the world, from Hawai’i to Antarctica and from Chile to Israel. Missions are also sporadically operated by American, Russian, Chinese, and European space agencies.

Portuguese Young Reporters alumni Pedro José-Marcellino and Marta Cortesão will be joining crew #238 as Crew Documentarian/Journalist, and Crew Astrobiologist, respectively.

Pedro, a Canada-based film producer, is one of the oldest YRE alumni/mentor and a member of the international jury. Selected by Mars Society for the original crew #238, he’s been preparing since 2019. Twenty-five years ago, Mission Antarctica, his 1996 YRE mission, occurred in Spitsbergen, Norway, incidentally around the corner from a present-day Mars- analog station. Pedro will be responsible for the mission’s media assets and public narrative.

Marta Cortesão, who is finishing her Astrobiology PhD in Cologne and works with the German Aerospace Center, was identified after a Crew Engineer drop-out during the pandemic created an opening. Working with YRE International Coordination and YRE Portugal, Pedro and Crew #238 ran a month-long search across the YRE network and unanimously selected Marta. She was officially approved by Mars Society’s mission control in February 2021. Marta will be responsible for the mission’s space science, and for operating its space observatories.

The remainder of the crew is composed by Commander Jonathan Yoke (USA, former SpaceX, Navy Seal), XO Sionade Robinson (Ireland, expeditions scholar and business professor), Crew Engineer Simon Werner (Germany), Health & Safety Office Robert Turner (USA, paramedic), GreenHab Officer Kay Sandor (USA, therapist), and Artist-in-Residence Agnieszka Prokrywka (Poland/Finland). Pedro and Marta will be wearing FEE/YRE patches, as well as national patches — Cape Verde/ Canada/EU for Pedro, and Portugal for Marta.

Each of Mars Society’s research centres comprises of a prototype of the Mars Habitat Unit (pictured) similar to those advocated by Mars Direct and NASA’s Mars Design Reference Mission for sending humans to Mars. These are multi-deck units, providing a combination of living and working space for crews of up to six people at a time, with additional space elsewhere in the station. Analog astronauts — or citizen astronauts, as they are often called — live in the pods as they would in Mars, adhering to a strict routine of personal and scientific needs, with limited contact to Mission Control, and going out into the analogous habitat only on prescribed missions. Life in the pods is exactly as seen in the SciFi movie The Martian. Activity outside the habitat requires operational coordination and donning Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits.

Developed in 1990 by Mars Society’s Robert Zubrin, with Martin Marietta and David Baker, Mars Direct is a proposal for a human mission to Mars, which is purportedly cost-effective, feasible within our current technological limitations, and possibly during our lifetime. The concept was expanded upon in Zubrin’s book The Case for Mars, which details the philosophy and practicalities of humanity’s expansion to another planet, and the ecological understanding necessary for the leap.

One of its major proponents is SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who has been very public in his large systemic vision for building a sustainable human presence in Mars over the very long term — something he foresees as well beyond his life, or SpaceX’s plans. The growth of such a system over decades cannot be planned. It is a complex and adaptive, developing as future humans make their own independent choices as to how they might — or not — connect to the broader system of an initially incipient, and then bustling, Mars settlement. Elon Musk is a supporter of the Mars Society programs, and one of MDRS’ two observatories is named after him.

Marta and Pedro, who represent 25% of crew #238, will be planting a FEE flag on site.

The Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment Inaugurates its Environmental Education Center in Salé

On Tuesday, June 18th 2019, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment inaugurated the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center, located next to the Exotic Gardens of Bouknadel, near Rabat, with the attendance of  the guests and partners .

The creation of this center, named by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, was initiated by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa. The center is entirely dedicated to raising environmental awareness and education among all target groups: children, civil society, businesses, administrations, local government entities, etc. It is the culmination of 18 years dedicated to this mission, part of the core programmes that the Foundation has initiated since its inception in 2001.

The Hassan II International Environmental Training Center will enable the Foundation to boost its educational efforts geared towards all its targets, and rise to the world challenge of combating global warming.

The center will start with an educational corpus consisting of tools, either developed by the Foundation or provided by its international partners such as UNESCO, FAO, UN Environment, and UNFCCC, to name a few. The advanced research in environmental education that the center intends to carry out in collaboration with multiple partners, including the Ministry of National Education, Moroccan universities and major engineering schools, will lead to the development of cutting-edge educational content.

To rapidly disseminate this pedagogy on a large scale, the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center will opt for new e-learning technologies. HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa took part of a distance-learning sequence with the technological resources that the center’s four training rooms will be equipped with for online, live, group or face-to-face distance sessions.

These rooms will be a valuable tool for training educators who will work to change the behaviour of all audiences, in order for the latter to willingly preserve the environment through their daily actions and choices.

On the garden level, in one of the four multipurpose and connected rooms, open for green classes in the pedagogical gardens where the teaching takes place in a practical manner, three Eco-Schools participated in training sessions related to sustainable development, in the presence of HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

For the construction of this center, the Foundation aimed to set an example in terms of environmental protection: site access, use of ecological materials such as soil and timber, photovoltaic power plant for energy autonomy, rainwater harvesting and wastewater treatment, waste management, permeable and tree-lined car parks, and landscaping of gardens in harmony with the natural environment. The experience gained during this eco-conscious project will pave the path towards developing a sustainable construction label specific to the kingdom.

Today,  the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center has become one of the Foundation’s flagship projects, set to reach high expectations: to be at the forefront, in constant renewal, adopting advanced pedagogical approaches, both in terms of content and tools for disseminating information. Its mission is to become a role model for environmental innovation, a space for meetings and exchanges, an incubator for ideas and solutions for the environment, especially for future PhD students.

Through its pedagogical vision, the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center, which is at the heart of the Foundation’s strategy, will revive the programmes of the Foundation and its partners in Morocco, Africa, and along the Mediterranean, who will be brought successfully together.

Announcing Earth Action Hub: A 3-Day Virtual Climate Event!

Connecting people to inspire change

IT’S OFFICIAL!

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is excited to be announcing the launch of Earth Action Hub, a dynamic 3-day virtual event dedicated to engaging everyone from youth to elders in learning about and promoting sustainable solutions to climate change!

Hosted by FEE, Earth Action Hub is the creation of the international, youth-led Organizing Committee made up of seven dedicated members: Barry McLaughlin (Ireland), Jessica Laxton (England), Joanna Tao (New Zealand), Kristina Madsen (Denmark), Paola Bay (Italy), Reeza Hanselmann (USA/Germany) and Samia Gomes (Brazil), all with the shared vision of building an online collaborative community that will serve as inspiration and support for continued environmental action across the globe.

“Our mission is to offer international youth-led virtual events and showcase resources that will give people the knowledge, skills, support, and hope needed to make changes in their daily lives that collectively will have a profound positive impact on the environment.”

SAVE THE DATES: 21-23 May 2021

The first annual Earth Action Hub event will be kicking off on Friday, May 21st at 14:00 UTC, starting with an Opening Ceremony filled with individuals from around the world and diving straight into a variety of talks, conversations and workshops. We’ve got over 24 hours of fun, dynamic and educational activities and sessions planned so Earth Action Hub is sure to be a success! And everyone’s invited!

Since our goal is to highlight a diverse range of voices, stories and experiences around solutions to climate change, we’re fortunate to have a number of incredible partners and speakers supporting Earth Action Hub all around the world. You can learn more about our partners on the Earth Action Hub website - we’re adding new ones every day!

Help us support the creation and maintenance of the online Earth Action Hub website with a donation!

Follow us @EarthActionHub on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and share our posts using #earthactionhub!

Check out our website and sign up to our newsletter to join the Earth Action Hub community and stay updated on news both leading up to and after our inaugural event!

Interested in partnering with us or running a session at the event? Send an email to reeza@fee.global.                                                         

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Earth Action hub is hosted by Foundation for Environmental Education, a member-based environmental non-profit organization.  With members in 77 countries around the world, FEE is the world’s largest environmental education organisation. Through five groundbreaking programmes, FEE helps communities realise the benefits of sustainable living.

New Collaboration with Youth Climate Report

The Youth Climate Report is partnering with Foundation for Environmental Education and will participate in the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programme!

This means that videos created for YRE will be showcased on the Youth Climate Report interactive map found on several UN websites. We believe this collaboration provides all of us the opportunity of “speaking youth to power”!

The Youth Climate Report is a multilinear, interactive, database documentary film project presented on a platform of a Geographic Information System map of the world. Simply put, it’s a digital map containing videos of climate research produced by the global community of youth from 2008 to the present.

Conceived in 2011 as a feature-length documentary film project showcasing approximate five video reports made by youth for presentation at the United Nations’ annual climate summits, it evolved into this interactive format to better serve the delegates, negotiators, and policymakers that attend these events. In 2016, it was designated as a partner program of the United Nations Climate Change secretariat and today serves as a resource for those attending the climate conferences. It is also available on various public websites and social media so everyone worldwide can interact with the project.

Global Youth Video Competition

The videos are curated through a contest administered by the UN called the Global Youth Video Competition. Each year two or three themes that will be prevalent at the COP conference that year are identified for the participants. The videos are submitted to an organization called Television for the Environment that administers the judging process. The top twenty videos in each category are then added to the Youth Climate Report project. The winners of the competition are flown to the host country of that year’s COP conference where their films are premiered at an awards ceremony. The winners are also given an internship at the conference so they can gain valuable first-hand experience in the international policymaking process.

See this year’s categories and winning videos here.

Future research on this project includes other means of engaging youth to be trained in documentary production and to tell their own stories of climate research and impacts where they live. Programmes like The Planetary Health Film Lab provide this opportunity to eligible candidates who may not have access to the UN competition, such as those living in remote communities throughout the world. As the project strives to be all-inclusive, efforts are made to involve Indigenous and technologically-challenged communities. Planetary health is an issue that affects everyone so it is necessary to give voice to everyone with this project.

Here are the films that came out of this Lab.

Youth Climate Report Executive Director Mark Terry is a professor of environmental filmmaking at York University and Wilfrid Laurier University, both in Canada. He runs workshops that provide training and support to emerging environmental filmmakers. Those who participate earn a certificate of achievement and their films are added to the UN’s Youth Climate Report interactive map.

Another workshop initiative, known as the Student Life Levy at Wilfrid Laurier University, saw a group of young filmmakers creatively working through the restrictions and limitations of a pandemic to generate a series of films for the Youth Climate Report. The training and production took place over a period of two months.

Here are the films that came out of this program.

For more information, please contact Mark Terry at ycrtv1@gmail.com.