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YOUNG REPORTERS
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INFORMATION
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NEWS
Year of Biodiversity,
February 2010 In 2006, the United Nations Organisation proclaimed that year 2010 would have theme the Biodiversity. During all this year, numerous events will take place all around the world in particular in France. Messages to be held for this year of the Biodiversity are: - The biodiversity is important for the well-being of the planet Young Reporters for the Environment " will participate in it by having a particular attention on the dimension biodiversity of the projects of this year.
http://www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/ Flick the Switch,
February 2010
Flick the Switch is a project with over two years inspired by supported by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme. The objective of the project is to organize an Energy saving and awareness generating campaign to motivate make pupils of the Primary sector (Primary school) and the Secondary sector (High school, Secondary) to take action and have a responsible behaviour towards energy consumption. sensitive on the importance of energy savings in everyday life. So, in 2010, we are inviting a call is being thrown to the Secondary School pupils to participate in a series of 4 "Chat" sessions on various topics related to Energy efficiency. We also invite teachers to moderate the discussions so at the end of the first 4 months of 2010, and in teachers speaking English to liven up the sessions: for more information, you can contact us by e-mail in coordination@youngreporters.org The first debate will be take place on the 18th of February at 11 10:30 AM (GMT+1, CET) on Flick the Switch Campaign website at: , you can register on it, here is the website www.flicktheswitch.eu Flick the Switch : First Debate,
March 2010
To answer this question, pupils indicated some simple energy saving actions such as turning off computers and lights when they are not in use. Lorenzo from ISC Gagliano in Italy mentioned a funny action about reminding his mother to turn off the washing-machine. Several pupils said that they had never thought about daily energy saving actions and how "they can help saving money and nature" until they were introduced to the Flick The Switch Project. The second question addressed was: "Do you think we need to limit the use of technology (computers, mobile phones, domestic devices such as fridges, dishwashers, etc) to be energy efficient? Why? Regarding this question, students seemed to have very strong and relevant ideas. The general opinion concluded from all debate participants is that it is very difficult to live with less technology. The solution, therefore, is not to limit its use but to draw people's attention to a more rational use of technology. Roberta, from Vilnius "Minties" High Secondary School in Lithuania made a comment representing this point of view: "We just have to use it when it's needed". Codruta from Italy added "...we can teach them (people)..." Theodore from Rakvere Gymnasium in Estonia made an interesting proposal: "They could also give each household the optional energy amount they need and heavily tax the family's who exceed the limit." Overall, students were very active and showed a strong interest and knowledge about the issues. Their feedback was very positive as they confirmed to have enjoyed the experience. Flick the Switch - 2nd Debate,
April 2010
The second Flick the Switch Energy Forum Debate took place on March 25th, 2010. 13 pupils from European secondary schools (Norway, Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania) participated in this initiative which was conducted on the topic of the Flick the Switch Week. Once again the debate questions were available on the Flick the Switch website for all schools to download them several days before the debate took place so that pupils would have time for advanced preparation of their answers and to encourage the use of these questions as a classroom exercise for all students to be involved in. The first question was: «What does Flick the Switch Week mean to you? Do you know, for example, that it is part of the «EU Sustainable Energy Week» also being hosted from 22nd to 26th March?» To answer this question, pupils strongly affirmed that more communication about the EU Sustainable Energy Week was needed. As for students from Spechia Secondary School, in Italy « It's right to communicate about the EU Sustainable Energy Week, but it should not be only a week but forever». Students from Ion Creanga School, Romania affirmed « It's a signal, an alarm call for responsibility." The second question addressed was: "Do you think Flick the Switch Week will encourage students to change their behaviour towards energy use? In what ways? Regarding this question, students had very strong beliefs on the possibility of changing, like ICSGagliano from Italy: « If 1/10 person can make a change and it's a success". Students from "Minsties" School, Lithuania said: "Saving energy is not living as in Stone Age, we have to try to convince ... and efficiency is valuable." The last question of the debate was "What activities is your school participating in for Flick the Switch Week?" The majority of schools which participated in the debate were also participating on the Flick The Switch Week through different activities. In Italy, for example, ICS Gagliano students described their school's actions for this special week: "Students will be dressed as Guardians of the Light and there will be a visit to a wind factory ... we will, after that, celebrate the Earth Hour". In Romania, Ion Creanga School students spread the word to everybody about some actions: "We will organize a poster contest, a mini show (Happy Spring for Earth) ... and pupils will present their projects to others." The general conclusion of this debate can be that students are eager of action. They want change to be faster and stronger, now and in the future. The next 2 debates of Flick the Switch will take place the 22nd of April and the 11th of May. For more informations, you can visit the Flick the Switch website : http://www.flicktheswitch.eu/ Click on TEENS and on FLICK CHAT Flick the Switch - 3rd debate,
May 2010
Once again, pupils had previous access to the debate questions, which were available online on the Flick the Switch website so that they would have time to prepare their answers and to encourage the use of these questions as a classroom exercise for all students to be involved in. Firstly it was asked to the pupils: "What interesting facts have you learned about energy saving since your school joined the Flick the Switch Campaign?" They revealed having been learning many and different facts through the Flick the Switch campaign, namely Asta, from Lithuania, who said: "We have learned many facts about saving energy, for example, laptop consumes 90% less energy than PC." The second question addressed was: "Did you and your school took part in the Flick the Switch Poster Competition?" According to one student from Lithuania, the competition of the best poster is only a tool, in the task of the protection of the planet: "The key issue was to save the planet - not only poster - which was just for fun." The last question of the debate was "How do you think you can sensitize non-alerted people to this matter? Do you think Flick the Switch's Campaign will have any impact on students' energy efficiency behavior?" To answer to this question students presented some original ideas, for example, from Rakvere emerged the following: "Probably through commercials (...) the biggest impact will probably be on younger students." Asta, once again said: "Make more games or create a club of teens from all over the world could get together interactive on this topic." Some of them made some interesting remarks like, for example, one of the drawbacks of all voluntary initiatives is probably that the ones who are ready to participate in taking actions for the environment are always the same." The general conclusion of this debate made by the energy expert, Tomislav Puksec, is that making Flick the Switch Campaign more connected toward the towns or communities is an idea to follow. New International Coordinator,
December 2009 Vincent LAURENT will be replacing Sophie BACHET as international YRE coordinator from 1st December 2009. Welcome to Vincent and good luck to Sophie in her future plans! The new email adress of YRE coordinator is : coordination@youngreporters.org YRE Newsletter,
July 2009
The YRE International Coordination is happy to share with you the Summer Newsletter. Wishing you all nice holidays, we look forward to hear from you in September! 5 June 2009: World Environmental Day,
June 2009 FEE's Environmental Education programmes celebrate the Environmental day!Since 1981, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) promotes sustainable development through environmental education. Its three educational programmes: Eco-Schools (www.eco-schools.org), Learning about Forests (www.leaf-international.org) and Young Reporters for the Environment (www.youngreporters.org) are now developed worldwide, and raise awareness in local communities in more than 50 countries. These programmes give the opportunity to young people to tackle environmental problems and find solutions, as well as sharing their different experiences.
The FEE educational programmes work hand in hand for a better environmental future, giving the tools to younger generations to reach their goals. Throughout environmental positively-driven activities, they engage the youth in being proactive. Every year since 1972, the 5th of June is celebrated as the "World Environmental Day". This special day was established by the UN General Assembly to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. FEE's educational programmes wishes to celebrate this day with you, and to encourage you to continue working towards a sustainable future - every action counts! Awards 2009!,
May 2009
Congratulations to all participants in YRE 2009! The International jury has awarded the articles and pictures for 2009. Read here our special Newsletter edition - all about the 2009 international jury! YRE International Jury 2009,
April 2009 This year, the YRE International Jury will be meeting on thursday 28th May in Paris. The International Jury is composed of:
They will be selecting 5 pictures and 9 awards (including the super-award) from the articles presented to the international jury by national YRE operators. Good luck to all of the participants and thanks to the members of the jury for accepting this task! Mission in Portugal,
March 2009 Manteigas, Gouveia and Seia welcomed the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) from schools across the country and a young Cypriot who also participated in the International YRE Mission - Estrela 2009 which took place between the 29th of March and 4th of April.
- Apply the methodology inherent to the YRE program: environmental research and communication - Develop diverse skills such as: research, writing, teamwork, learning the English language, etc. - Investigating good practices related to sustainable development - Learning about the opportunities and challenges of the Serra de Estrela region in respect to the themes of water, biodiversity and climate change - Identify problems and suggest solutions during the research process - Provide a group of youths with the opportunity to meet with youths from other regions of Portugal and other countries As part of the program, besides a workshop on journalism during the opening session in Manteigas, on-site interviews and research also took place which were centred around the following themes:
- Other sustainable activities in the Serra (visit to a rural tourism estate; visit to a Serra da Estrela dog breeder) - Biodiversity- knowing and conserving (visit to the Ecological Park of Gouveia; visit to the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre- CERVAS; visit to the Visitor Learning Centre in Seia)  - Water, the most precious resource of the Serra (following the Mondego: visit to a trout farm, visit to the source of the rivers Mondego and Zêzere; visit to lakes: Lagoa Comprida, Lagoa de Rossim, Poço do Inferno). This Mission, which received support from the mentioned towns, as well as from local and national entities (see poster), has as its goal to train young people not only in research and journalistic communication of an environmental nature, but most importantly to develop their critical and creative senses; essential to the exertion of their citizenship.
The articles written by the young reporters are published on the website in English and Portuguese. YRE Newsletters,
May 2009
The YRE International Coordination is happy to share with you the latest news of the programme. We hope you enjoy the reading! You can also download the January 2009 newsletter here: And the December 2008 newsletter here National Operators Meeting,
November 2008 Like every year, the national operators of the countries developing YRE programme met in order to work on the programme.
FEE Morocco ("Fondation Mohamed VI pour la protection de l'Environnement") was kind enough to host the event in Rabat, and the international coordination wishes to thank them again for the perfect organisation and motivation. This event was organised back to back with the Eco-School National Operators Meeting (20-21 November) in order to save some transports for some coordinators in charge of both programmes. Four new countries joined the network for 2009 : Brazil, China, New Zealand and Wales.
Awards 2008,
June 2008
In the Photo category,a YRE team from portugal received the first prize: A crucial step to the future.
The articles awarded cover a large range of environmental issues : coastline and its protection, agriculture, solar energy, sewage, consumption. Our solar Car from Malta and Are the garbage containers too small for bulk garbage? have been granted a special encouragement award. Discover all photos and articles awarded! Latest YRE articles and photos,
March 2008
How to reduce your energy cost, Cyprus Medical Sweeping, Romania Garbage, Portugal plants versus Plants, Turkey Take action,Turkey Wind power, Cyprus The flood of the river Seine, France The lack of water in Cyprus, Cyprus The pollution problem of our city, Romania The air of Porto, Portugal New Building methods..., Cyprus The importance of advertising, Portugal The Athalassa lake, Cyprus What a wonderful world, Portugal (Un)sustainable development, Portugal A plastic bag tax..., Portugal A renewable energy, Hydrogen, Turkey The air we breathe..., Portugal Participate to the YRE BOOK 2008,
March 2008 National coordinators meeting,
November 2007 The Arctic-Arc expedition,
June 2007 Sustainable mobility and innovation,
October 2005 YRE Mission, Cyprus,
October 2005 YRE 10th Anniversary conference,
January 2005
Mission Ocean and energy, Azores, Portugal,
September 2003
Read the mission report or visit the portuguese web site of the mission |
What is YRE
* Mr. Bernard Combes - 
On the last day a press conference took place during which the work undertaken during that week was presented to the local community. The purpose was to discuss with all those involved in the mission and those present at the conference the outcomes of the Mission. During this session the Cine-Eco award-winning documentary film "Are there still shepherds?" was shown. 
The YRE stayed at the Jones House belonging to the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela. Last but not least, the YRE group adopted two birds who were in recovery at CERVAS! 
The YRE international jury met on the 6th of June 2008. 28 articles and 24 photos were submitted after a pre-selection operated by national coordinators of 11 countries. Many articles were submitted under the water and waste topics, sign of the big issues raising in that field. 5 articles were awarded. Among them, Tackling Climate change in the Mediterranean Region written in cooperation between Cyprus, Malta and Portugal YRE, was elected as Super award 2008. 
The YRE book 2007 has been edited and sent in every participating country. It contains articles and photos of young reporters from 15 countries who investigated their local environment. 
Do you want to be in the YRE book 2008? Get in touch with your 
The national coordinators of the YRE programme met from the 10-12th of November in Zagreb,Croatia. Three new countries are joining YRE this year : Canada, Kazakhstan, and Malta. A new perspective for international cooperation. the development of YRE is still on progress, the Netherlands, Montenegro and Slovakia prepare a pilot project... National coordinators met to discuss the orientation and strategy of the programme. Climate Change is confirmed as a priority, activities will take place in the frame of the polar year too.
Climate is changing, and poles are more than ever under scrutiny since they witness more than ever how fast and deep the change can be. In the frame of the International Polar Years (2007 & 2008) YRE, in cooperation with the International Polar Foundation followed the Arctic Arc expedition of Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer across the Arctic continent, through the north pole. A traverse of 106 days and 1650 km, from February to June 2007 with strong scientific contents to prepare your YRE project 2008. See the 
Mobility is one of the most important issues to address. Planes, trucks, trains, boats, cars, bicycles witness the diversity of our means of transport. One the one hand, it makes no doubt that they offer large benefits to a modern society on the move... But on the other hand, wrong city planning, CO2 emissions responsible for climate change, traffic jams, air pollution, noise, loss of time, accidents, etc. represent growing costs that question more and more our technologies, our development and simply our way of life. How can we improve the situation? To explore possible answers, YRE are invited to produce articles and photos reporting problems, and explaining how innovation can contribute to sustainable mobility. Most interesting articles in that field will be edited in the YRE book 2006. One of them will receive an Award. Get 
From the 22nd to the 30th of October 2005, a YRE mission was organised in Cyprus. During a week, 20 Young reporters from 6 countries (Portugal, France, Cyprus and Greece) was in the field to understand the role of technology (solar, wind...) in preserving natural resources. Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) confirms to bear a large responsibility in climate change and local air pollution. Not only this, the hurricane Katerina that stroke the USA in september 2005 fragilised the oil refineries capacity of the country, revealing a growing potential for alternative energy sources. 
January, in Lyon, France. It gathered the partners of the programme, national coordinators, and twenty young reporters and teachers from 8 countries who have been invited to display the originality and quality of YRE production. On this occasion, young reporters displayed their investigation, articles, photos, and movies. This anniversary has been possible thanks the support of the Rhône-Alpes region. Last but not least, a video conference took place with Jean-Louis Etienne, a famous explorer who hosted a team of young reporter on his exploration boat "Antartica" on a mission in the spitzberg region in 1996.
ECO-QUIZZ,
September 2004
Test your eco-knowledge with 60 questions, and get practical advice on how to improve the environmental impact of your day-to-day actions. This is a game designed by the European commission to understand how we can help improve the state of our planet by the decisions we make in our daily lives. Play now in 
A team of 16 Portuguese and Irish young reporters was sent on mission to Azores, from the 13th to 20th of September 2003. During one week, they investigated the environment of Azores Islands. Two main topics was surveyed by the young Reporters : ocean and energy. Indeed, Azores is a very rich area in term of biodiversity. A wealth which is a source of economic development to local population, through tourism and fisheries. The geographical situation of the Azores Islands has also an originality : springing from the Atlantic ocean, the volcanic activity of the Island is a geothermal source of energy.