On June 7, the Veolia foundation awarded prizes for the 15th edition to higher education students whose daring projects ventured to combine "innovation" and "solidarity". Of the 52 applicants from all over the world, 10 finalists, supported by Veolia sponsors, were selected on June 1 to present their projects to a panel of judges representing different associations, educational institutions and departments of human resources. The result? Three winners, including one chosen by public vote.
Three ambitious and innovative solidarity projects
The Juste 2°C association won the Student Solidarity Prize for its Saône 2 Rhône project. The idea? To take a research laboratory on a barge along the Saône and Rhône rivers, all the way to the Mediterranean. Geography, sociology, biogeochemistry, biology and even anthropology will be the focus of this expedition, which will invite local residents and institutional players to reflect on the relationships we maintain with our immediate environment. As for children, they will benefit from knowledge-sharing and educational activities when the barge stops at different points along the way.
The jury's prize went to ANESTAPS (Association nationale des étudiants en STAPS) for their project - the Friperie Sport Planète - solidarity-based thrift shops set up directly on campuses, that offer low-cost second-hand sports equipment and supplies, as well as free sporting events and workshops, with a focus on environmental issues. The initiative was prompted by the observation that young people entering university no longer take part in physical activities and sports, due in many cases to the precariousness of student life and university constraints.
The People's Choice Award went to Écologistes de la Mé, which aims to protect the Mé River in Côte d'Ivoire. This river, a source of drinking water, will help tackle the growing water shortages that Abidjan has been suffering from due to groundwater contamination and demographic pressure. On the agenda: measures to preserve the river, create water towers, raise awareness of pesticide use, set up warning stations, limit women's chores and reforest the river banks.
To transform tomorrow's world together
Veolia is aware of the immense role that the younger generation has to play if it is to continue to fulfill its ambition of becoming leaders in ecological transformation in ways and professions that are based on solidarity. All that remains is to give them the opportunity to act and express themselves. As Thierry Vandevelde, Managing Director of the Veolia Foundation said at the awards ceremony on June 7:
But things can only happen if we work together, as Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia's CEO, forcefully emphasized:
