The German 2020 2IMPREZS Kick-off
On January 24th, the German Energizers joined the international partnership in hosting their local 2020 2IMPREZS Energy Challenges.
At the City Hall of Rotenburg Wümme in Lower Saxony, over 90 German pupils launched their international Energy Challenges competition in cohesion with the five other participating North Sea Region countries participating in the project, who simultaneously hosted 2020 2IMPREZS “Inspiration Days” or kick-off celebrations of their own.
The German 2IMPREZS kick-off celebration was overseen by the European Institute for Innvation (EIfI).
The Mayor of Rotenburg, Bürgermeister Herr Andreas Weber, addresses the pupils and inspires them for this year’s challenges.
The Mayor of Rotenburg, Bürgermeister Herr Andreas Weber, invited the 2IMPREZS pupils of Lower Saxony to the City Hall of Rotenburg (Wümme) in order to formally address and applaud the pupils’ energy-saving initiatives. Following his inspiring introductory speech, the diverse group of students, ranging from ages 5 to 16, introduced themselves by school.
The three stellar schools of the 2019 2IMPREZS Energy Challenges – IGS Achim, Halepaghen Schule Buxtehude and Grundschule Eversen – returned with new pupils to the stage for another round of the Energy Challenges this year. They spoke about their energy-saving initiatives from the previous year of the project and how they are going to build on these experiences, in addition to outlining key points and actions for this year’s challenges. These dedicated pupils can only serve as inspiration for the additional four German 2IMPREZS schools that have joined for the 2020 international challenges: Grundschule Tegeling, Stadtschule Rotenburg, IGS Rotenburg and Oberschule Soltau.
Although the Energizers come from all over Lower Saxony and have varying backgrounds, they all share a common goal: saving energy and lowering carbon emissions. They are highly enthusiastic about achieving the best results over the course of the next months.
Newcomers to the project from the Stadtschule Rotenburg present their intentions and aspirations for this year’s 2IMPREZS Energy Challenges.
With the introductory presentations complete, the pupils broke out into a series of hands-on workshops. Here, they painted brilliant eco-appreciation banners, crafted families of hungry Energiefresser (“Energy Eaters”) and up-cycled old juice cartons into compact wallets – because nothing says "fashion" like a low-carbon supply chain.
(Above) Pupils craft “Energiefresser”, or “Energy Eaters”, at a craft station run by the EIfI. They will use them afterwards as energy awareness tools in their schools.
(Below) Eco-appreciation banners are created by pupils from 5 to 16 years old.
The energetic day concluded with a group photo inside the City Hall, and last-minute bites from the platter of delicious sandwiches. The pupils said their goodbyes at around noon and headed off to start saving energy in their schools.
To conclude the day of energy festivities on a high note, the IGS Rotenburg were inspired to request the City of Rotenburg Wümme to switch their school to green energy from this year onward. The Mayor of Rotenburg responded immediately and enthusiastically, sending out energy surveyors to assess the costs of switching the IGS Rotenburg Wümme to renewably sourced energy. A conclusion of the energy surveys and cost analysis was the decision of the mayor to switch not only the school, but also the entire city council of Rotenburg Wümme to renewable energy – a remarkable initiative inspired by the young people of Lower Saxony.
