The South African Climate Change Champs Renewable Energy Challenge 2023 is delighted to announce the regional finalists who will progress to the national stage of the competition. These champions of climate change will represent their school and province at the national judging round, where they will present their projects at the Enlit Africa 2023 conference in Cape Town from 16 – 18 May 2023, with the hope of being crowned as national winners.
Following the completion of the regional judging rounds, the following finalists from the Western Cape have been selected: Emil Lions from Emil Weder High School, representing the Greyton/Genadendal region, Environmentally Friendly Substances (Khanyolwethu Secondary School), and Green Divas (Diazville High School).
The competition was officially launched in January 2023 and welcomed online entries from Grade 9 – 11 learners at Climate Club host schools in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces. Learners were encouraged to imagine how renewable energy can be used to impact their communities and dream up what a sustainable future would look like for them as the future generation. To do this, participants had to select a category for which their renewable energy solution had to address and a method of entry to demonstrate their solution.
The categories spanned across food, crime and safety, health and wellness, transport and mobility, and home solutions. For the method of entry, participants showcased their artistic and technical abilities in the form of a graphic or comic novel, technical model, visual art piece or poster, and video story tale.
“The purpose of the competition is to provide an accessible platform for youth voices on renewable energy to be heard and by amplifying the voices of the youth, we hope to empower them to become active citizens in responding to climate change and to be aware of the opportunities that exist for their communities for a sustainable future,” says Lindiwe Johnson, Senior Skills Development Analyst at GreenCape. The main objective was to inspire the youth to think of problems affecting their homes, schools and broader community and develop a project that shows how renewable energy can solve and address these issues.
For the next stage, regional finalists will embark on an exciting trip to Cape Town where they will attend educational workshops, go on site visits to renewable energy facilities and institutions, and exhibit and present their projects at Enlit Africa at the GreenHub on 18 May 2023.
