The project “Construction of the First Solar Classroom”, prepared by the “Mirko Vešović” Secondary School of Economics in Podgorica, won first place in the “Energy Underlined in Green” competition.
Second place went to the “Eco Nursery” project, submitted by the “Spasoje Raspopović” Secondary Vocational School in Podgorica, while third place went to the “Outdoor Green Classroom – Eco Gumno” project, submitted by the “Štampar Makarije” Primary School in Podgorica.
In addition to these, the committee comprising Marija Jovović – CEDIS, Nevena Čabrilo, Bureau for Education – National Coordinator for Montenegro for the International “Eco-Schools” Programme and committee member, Tatjana Zečević Miranović – CEDIS, Saša Karajović – NGO “EKOM” and member of the Environmental Protection Foundation, and Dušan Bugarin – Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, awarded two more outstanding projects: “Eco Laboratory” by the “Vuk Karadžić” Primary School, Podgorica, and “The School Yard as an Outdoor Classroom” by the “Mihailo Žugić” Primary School, Odžak, Pljevlja.
By way of reminder, the Montenegrin Electricity Distribution System, in cooperation with the Bureau for Education of Montenegro, which implements the International “Eco-Schools” Programme, announced the “Energy Underlined in Green” competition for an environmental protection project on 20 September. Educational institutions implementing the International “Eco-Schools” Programme—that is, those holding the “Green Flag” international award—as well as institutions that had applied to pilot the “Eco-Schools” Programme, were eligible to participate. The prize fund amounted to EUR 15,000.
“After a far from easy task, and applying very strict criteria for selecting the best projects, the committee selected the five finalists. Schools and preschools made every effort to meet all the required criteria, and we had quite a challenge choosing the best from among so many excellent, carefully prepared projects. What we must emphasise, and what gives us hope that we have launched a serious initiative grounded in developing young people’s awareness of the importance of protecting the environment, is the strong response from educational institutions to our competition. As many as 37 submitted projects. It is an understatement to say that our task was not at all easy; on the other hand, we are extremely pleased with what we saw,” committee members told us.
The committee members did not score eight projects: three failed to meet several criteria, while five exceeded the budget, that is, the amount of funding available under the competition (EUR 3,000). For such projects, the educational institution was required to indicate in its application that it had another source of funding to cover the remaining project costs.
“There were five such projects, and they could not be scored. We would like to emphasise that these are outstanding projects which, we are sure, would help improve the quality of the environment in the communities where they operate. We sincerely hope that the educational institutions will find funding to implement them as well,” said the members of the committee evaluating projects in the “Energy Underlined in Green” competition.
CEDIS emphasises that, in the year marking 30 years since the adoption of the Declaration Proclaiming Montenegro an Ecological State, it sought to support that commitment through the “Energy Underlined in Green” project. As a responsible company, CEDIS says it strives to incorporate environmental protection strategy—which is one of today’s greatest challenges—into its business planning process, so that managing environmental impacts becomes an integral part of its operations.
“Through the ‘Energy Underlined in Green’ project, we want to raise awareness among students, teachers and the community about the importance of the environment. By implementing the project, educational institutions will enable students to take part in solving problems and contribute to improving the environment at a level where tangible results can be seen,” CEDIS said.
The partners in the “Energy Underlined in Green” project are the Association for Environmental Consulting in Montenegro (ECOM) and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which implement the “Eco-Schools” Programme in Montenegro together with the Bureau for Education.
