19th May 2008, Australia
St Francis Catholic School from Tannum Sands near Gladstone in Queensland has submitted the winning Australian entry for the Veolia Cities Around The World 2008 global school competition, sponsored by Veolia Environnement.
The school has won the grand prize in which two students & their class teacher will fly to Paris in June to represent Australia at an awards ceremony hosted by Veolia Environnement & UNESCO. These students will meet with other winning children from countries all over the world and discover the culture of Paris.
The campaign, "Cities Around The World", attracted 115,000 children from 30 countries and is the 5th international campaign aimed at raising awareness on sustainable development for primary school students aged between 8 - 12 years.
With over 4,000 children participating in Australia, the campaign inspired children to give their city the opportunity to tell its tale. The primary school students had to learn more about their city, discover its desires and dreams and then express what people could do so that their city keeps living in harmony with the earth.
With half the world's population now living in cities, this program was ideal in developing student's thoughts on how their city operates today and what should be implemented to ensure the city survives for future generations. This focused around five main categories: water management, waste & recycling, public transport, energy uses & nature.
