After being involved with so many great innovative minds in our first programmes such as the Climate Launchpad, Climathon and DigiEduHack, we decided to widen our activities not only regionally but also across the generational spectrum. On the 29th of October, Circular Influence hosted our very first edition of Young Climathon for Argentina and Uruguay.
Young Climathon is a programme created by the Climate-KIC which is deeply focused on involving the youth in climate action. This programme is a response to the lack of climate innovation and problem-solving frameworks in education. It is a way of creating a strong base of quality educational methods in schools that will be able to tackle challenges more effectively while fostering a responsible and knowledgeable community, even outside of the classes.
Young Climathon consists of 3 stages:
Young Innovators - Circular Influence starts by training educators and teachers in systems innovation and the use of problem-solving tools in their curricula. We also provide seminars on climate change solutions and circular economy. With this training and knowledge, the educators are then able to start providing similar teaching to their students who establish a profound understanding of climate action and systems thinking.
Young Climathon - 1-2 days of hackathon where teams of students work on finding and presenting innovative solutions to a challenge that we set
Young Changemakers - participants develop their ideas even further and work closely with Circular Influence
Circular Influence has initiated the first stage of Young Innovators early on this year by recruiting educators and partnering with schools who are interested in advancing their teaching methods and subjects. The challenge that we proposed to them was: Sustainable Mobility + Agriculture: Uses and Usufructs where the participants were trained to build a completely environmentally friendly electric car with agricultural products (waste, plants, etc.).
In our very first edition, we welcomed various teams from Argentina and Uruguay and trained them in topics such as Climate Change, Innovation and Systems Thinking, Project Management, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Mobility, Design, Presentation and Assembling of Pitches. All of this knowledge and new skills were put to use when developing the sustainable vehicle and especially during the second stage - Young Climathon.
Circular Influence hosted Young Climathon on the 29th of October and provided the space for all teams to present their idea, pitch it to the jury and be evaluated, in addition to a program full of insightful speeches, keynote speakers and interviews.
Circular Influence can proudly introduce you to the 2021 Young Climathon winners:
MANI MOTORS from St. Patricks school in Uruguay
ECOTEAM from Armonia school in Argentina
EMBEARONMENT - LAMBEARGHINI also from Armonia school in Argentina
And let us not forget about the people’s favourite - ECOTEAM. This Argentinian team won the 2021 Public Choice Award, earning a total of 456 points based on the votes from our social media and polls.
Our overall winner - Mani Motors - was able to construct a fully functional model of a solar-powered car utilizing peanut shells. The green vehicle is waterproof, fireproof and made of lightweight material.
Circular Influence was astonished to see the innovativeness of all teams and their efforts in the programme. We are already looking forward to our second edition of Young Innovators in 2022.
