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NextGen Energy

EUTeens4Green Team

05/05/2023 19:22

💡 Description: NextGen Energy empowers Slovakian youth through a 4-day camp on renewable resources, that provides them with knowledge, and practical skills to increase awareness and implement solutions in local communities. The NextGen Energy project aims to educate and connect young people interested in tackling the climate crisis through renewable resources, hence empowering them to find and implement green solutions in their local communities. In Slovakia, access to knowledge about renewable resources is not widespread, given that the state curriculums barely contain any information regarding this topic. Therefore, young people in Slovakia are brought up knowing very little about the advantages of green energy. This is even more true with students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have limited access to energy on their own. Given these realities, we deem it necessary to increase the level of awareness and knowledge about renewable resources among young people from various backgrounds. This project will bring knowledge about renewable resources to high school students through a variety of theoretical and practical teaching methods. A group of selected students, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds or with physical disabilities, will be given a unique opportunity to visit electrical power plants with restricted access to the public. These educational visits will be combined with interactive workshops led by experts in the fields of renewable resources, energy storage and hydrogen. At the end of the 4-day camp, participants will obtain hands-on experience by designing a technical solution or building a source of renewable energy at a local school. However, the project aims to share this information and knowledge with a much wider audience of young people. Hence, the 14 students will be responsible for documenting their experience and sharing it with their peers. Moreover, after completing the program, they will support the participants in implementing local community projects of their choice, as they know what their communities could benefit from the most. Acknowledging that Slovakia is now producing less than 10% of its energy from renewable resources, it is more important than ever before to include young people in education about renewable resources and leave no one behind. Empowering people by educating, connecting and networking will lead to more environmentally conscious citizens in the future and stimulate local action in communities where it is needed the most. The project consists of three modules to be realized during a 4-day camp in June 2023 organized for high school students from regions supported by the Just Transition Fund (JTF). Module 1 will contain lectures from experts from relevant fields, including workshops on the basic functioning of renewable resources, options for energy storage in battery systems, and the future of hydrogen. The aim of Module 2 is the education of youth about renewable resources through visits to green energy-producing power plants. Specifically, hydroelectric power plants in Gabčíkovo and Želiezovce, a wind park in Hainburg and a solar park near Bratislava. Module 3 will verify and present the acquired knowledge through a series of educational videos to be shared on social media, as well as via a test quantifying the information learned by the participants. Furthermore, the module will implement gained knowledge in one of two methods. The first method consists of proposing an innovative green solution for an elementary school in Handlová—a town in a supported region— that is visited by students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project is in contact with the institution’s vice-principal and the school is proud to support our project. The camp participants, in collaboration with experts in the field, will develop project documentation, expense calculation, time schedule and a recommendation for battery storage for the school. The collaboration will also involve interactive lectures/workshops about project management and the efficient usage of financial resources of the European Union. The completed project documentation will allow the school to more easily reach financing for the procurement and installation of the technology. Should finding experts that would help create this project documentation be unsuccessful, NextGen Energy will directly apply the knowledge gained by participants in the construction of a small renewable energy source in the elementary school. The camp participants will be able to assemble, install and present it to the school’s students. The school will gain an energy source with an accumulator that not only will reduce its energy consumption from the grid but also will act as a practical educational aid. The ultimate aim of module 3 is to utilize knowledge from the camp in local communities. After taking part in our camp, the participants will possess knowledge, skills and experience they can use to educate their peers and improve their local communities. Project NextGen Energy aims to educate and empower young people in Slovakia to tackle the climate crisis through renewable resources. A 4-day camp will provide theoretical and practical knowledge, including visits to power plants, interactive workshops, and designing technical solutions for a local school. The project aims to increase awareness and knowledge of renewable resources among young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The acquired knowledge will be shared through educational videos, and participants will implement it by proposing innovative green solutions or constructing a small renewable energy source in an elementary school. The ultimate aim is to utilize the knowledge gained to improve local communities.
🎯 Target Group
🌱 Expected Results: To organize a 4-day, 3-night camp for 13 participants and 7 organizers. During the camp, they will provide education on renewable resources and practical skills to increase awareness and implement solutions in local communities. They will also network and connect participants with other experts and companies in this field.
✉️ Contact: natalialasova@gmail.com
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