Young Clean Energy
Since its creation, AVD has contributed to the fight against climate change and has increased the participation of young people and children in activities that protect the environment by giving them the opportunity to discuss environmental problems and the role they can play in solving them.
An initiative of Actions Vitales pour le Développement durable (AVD)
Overview of the project
In 2012, the French Institute of Cameroon, in partnership with the associations Actions Vitales pour le Développement durable (AVD) and Mieux-Être, and under the patronage of Cameroon’s Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC), launched the “Jeunes Énergies Propres” project, a pragmatic initiative that focused on promoting environmental citizenship as the basis for the energy revolution and energy efficiency, which is one of the major challenges of the coming decades, including for all countries in the South. The project took a close look at renewable energies in Cameroon and was carried out during the “International Year of Access to Sustainable Energy for All” to promote young people’s scientific and technical knowledge of renewable energies.
Aimed at schoolchildren, the project’s approach has enabled young people to learn about and adapt alternative energies, taking into account the economic and domestic constraints that they themselves can understand in their families and communities. AVD worked with the Institut Français du Cameroun, la Voix du Paysan and the Mieux-Être association to encourage young people’s creativity through the “Jeunes Energies Propres” poster competition, which was open to secondary school pupils in Cameroon, particularly in Douala and Yaoundé. The best posters illustrating different forms of energy and their use at local level were used to produce an exhibition and an educational booklet on renewable energies, which are still widely distributed today. The young people also took part in site visits to leading companies and institutes across Cameroon.
The project aims to promote scientific and technical knowledge of renewable energies among young people in Cameroon by offering them an opportunity to learn about and adapt alternative energies, taking into account the economic and domestic constraints that they themselves can understand in their families and communities.
Ongoing research
01/01/2012 - 15/06/2013
The “Young Clean Energies” project involved more than 300 secondary school pupils in a poster competition, in which they were invited to create drawings depicting real-life examples of energy saving, alternative (less polluting) energies or renewable energies. Of the 110 entries received, around twenty were selected by a panel of judges. The posters were finalised in working sessions with experts from the sector, teachers and graphic designers, resulting in a full-scale exhibition and an educational booklet that are still used today as teaching tools. More than 10 scientific and technical meetings and field trips have involved hundreds of young people and facilitated the extension of their extra-curricular exchanges.
Through activities such as educational talks, the production of a documentary film and site visits, more than a thousand secondary school students have been able to discover concrete energy innovations already in place in Cameroon and around the world. The project’s approach demonstrated that developing citizenship through socialisation is a successful alternative approach to educating young people about the development of renewable energies. Immersing them in environmental issues, inviting them to discuss energy-saving practices as a family, putting them in touch with researchers and companies, and finally soliciting their ideas through an art competition has helped to structure the minds of teenagers.
The project was mainly financed by the French Institute in Cameroon (IFC), as well as by AES SONEL, the French Embassy in Cameroon, Bolloré Africa Logistics, Chanas Assurances, Groupe Elégance Pressing, Société anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun (SABC) and Société camerounaise des dépôts pétroliers (SCDP).
About the
organisation
organisation
Since its creation, AVD has contributed to the fight against climate change and has increased the participation of young people and children in activities that protect the environment by giving them the opportunity to discuss environmental problems and the role they can play in solving them. More than 100,000 young people and children have directly or indirectly benefited from the impact of the actions carried out by the association across Cameroon. These actions have improved and facilitated their participation in the promotion of sustainable development and the fight against climate change through intervention methods such as awareness-raising and education campaigns, the organisation of training workshops for capacity-building, among other methods.
A project
in collaboration
in collaboration
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Association Mieux-Être
ONG et Association
Other partners / supporters
Cameroon Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC), TOTAL Cameroon, Institut supérieur de technologies d’Afrique centrale (ISTAC), Centre international de recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), GoodPlanet Foundation, La Voix du Paysan, Radio Environnement, Planète Jeunes, Radio Bonne Nouvelle, University of Ngaoundéré and University of Douala.