Tag Archive for: blue economy

Balkan: from a War Massacre Site to a Sustainable School

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The elementary school Vladimir Nazor, in Croatia, is now “The Blue Economy Happy School “.

It took three years between the formulation of the idea and the reality. Students, parents and the school leadership wanted to overcome once and for all the traumas inflicted by the Balkan War by transforming their dilapi dated building into an example from which the world can learn.

Their project proposal received in 2018 the Sustainability Prize of the Emirate-based Foundation honoring Sheikh Zayed, the Founder of the United Arab Emirates. The $100,000 award money kickstarted a revolutionary transformation that mobilized a total of €700,000 thanks to additional support from the Zadar County and the European Union.

Now a 30 kW solar power plant supplies electricity for LED lighting and solar backpacks can be used by students on field trips. An ultrafast, super-secure and energy saving internet operates on light (LiFi), the first in Croatia and one of the first in Europe. An electric vehicle powered by the solar provides for all transport needs for the school, especially the kitchen. When the school is closed for weekends and holidays then all power is distributed to the local community.

Leonarda Skara

Students are now proud of their school, an infrastructure that was first built in 1876. They wish to create a portfolio of new businesses, securing a future for their community that already harbors the largest organic olive orchard in Croatia. They do not wait to take initiative after graduation and created a student cooperative “Maslina” selling olive oil from the school gardens. Now they are ready to convert the 30 kg of clippings per tree into 15 kg of mushrooms generating more income and job opportunities.  “We want to have a future right here at home” commented Leonarda Skara who went to Abu Dhabi to collect the Prize and who is leading the students in their enthused transformation of the war torn region.

The success story of the Vladimir Nazor Elementary and Middle School in Škabrnja will serve as an inspiration for all village schools around the world demonstrating that a new future is possible even when the dramas of the past are hard to accept nor forget. A video documenting this transformation will be translated into five UN languages and will be distributed through a video and text to the global network of Zayed Sustainability Prize schools.

”The Ministry of Science and Education is happy that the students and employees of the Vladimir Nazor Elementary School, from the small Zadar municipality of Škabrnja, demonstrated their resolve to embrace the future”, said Vesna Šerepac, Director of Education at the Ministry of Science and Education. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Prof. Gunter Pauli, known as “The Steve Jobs of Sustainability” representing The Zayed Sustainabilty Prize where he serves as a member of the committee; the Prefect of Zadar County Božidar Longin; Prof Ivan Šimuni Head of Education for Zadar county; and Darko Parić CARNET Public Administration co operation advisor.

100 Questions in 100 Pages, a free book from Gunter Pauli

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Gunter Pauli, the founder of ZERI (Zero Emission Research and Initiatives) and the Blue Economy, invites everyone to reflect and ask questions, starting with those of his book “100 Questions in 100 Pages”. An invitation to question the origins and implications of this virus and to understand how to overcome the crisis, together, by using confrontation. A declaration of love to stimulate debates and change. The book is freely downloadable from the site in English, French, Italian, Spanish.
Written in less than a month to launch a challenge to all humanity, Gunter Pauli’s book invites you to think, ask questions and reflect, to be able to build a truly better world together, and try to understand how to evolve, how to get out of this crisis and what to do next.
Can radio frequencies wake up viruses that nearly 40% of all adults in the world have in their bodies? Should we cure symptoms or build up defense mechanisms? And why does simply asking questions generate such aggressive attacks? Additionally, what does freedom of speech have to do with health-care policies? How can we use the greatest infrastructure available on earth to reach everyone? What if all that is required is a light bulb? And is there a chance to transform the economy into a happier and healthier one? Here are some of the questions that Pauli asks himself in the book and how to get out of the chaos in which we are.

YRE: an interview to Gunter Pauli at 10WEEC

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When we were about to leave the conferance hall, we heard someone talking enthusiastically. We sat back to our seats. It didn’t take much time of the speaker to catch our attention. He was Gunter Pauli the author of the book The Blue Economy. We would like to share some highligting points from his speech.

“Tell the people three-minutes stories , they will ask for more.”

Everyone loves stories if we turn the most difficult scientific subjets into stories by using childhood games that we all played outdoor. Childrens mustn’t lose their fantasy . We need this fantasy to move to a vision. Plus, science should be solid. We can use children toys and games to make science concrete for them. For example we can use kites to teach gravity and ascending force.

“Now it’s time to sell the diplomas.”

We should stop whatever we are doing today because it seems that it doesn’t work as we can’t save the world as we don’t have any sustainability to the economy with old industrial errors of which the worst is the education. Because we still have mind control at schools. The biggest industry today is selling diplomas. We don’t need to be there; we should change whatever we are doing today.

“We should shift from green economy to blue economy”.

After his speech, we had a chance to talk about his book, The Blue Economy, which was translated into 34 languages. In his book he claims that green economy doesn’t work. Moreover, it is expensive as it doesn’t use what we have in nature. Sustainable economy requires new methods; blue economy which is cheap and responses to the people’s needs by using what we have in nature. We must benefit from our oceans and seas.

YRE Turkey in WEEC 2019 Thailand
By İrem Yılmaz & Mehmet Ardan

Gunter Pauli: innovation and entrepreneurship at the WEEC

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Vsiting lecturer and professor at universities in all continents, Member of the Board of NGOs and private companies in Asia, USA and Latin America Gunter Pauli is once again key note speaker at WEEC.

Actually Gunter Pauli already attended the 7WEEC in Morocco (2013) and it was delightful to attend his lesson. Now, for the 10th edition of the World Environmental Education Congress in Bangkok (Thailand) Gunter Pauli will be again in the number of our esteemed guests.

He has advised governments, entrepreneurs and industry leaders on how to implement breakthrough innovations that permits society to better respond to the basic needs of all, starting with water, food, housing, health and energy. He works with what is locally available, focuses on the generation of value.

He founded the “Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives” (ZERI) at the United Nations University in Tokyo, and subsequently established The Global ZERI Network as a foundation, redesigning production and consumption into clusters of industries inspired by natural systems.

He is dedicated to design and implement a society and industries, which respond to people’s needs using what is locally available. His visionary approach supported by dozens of projects on the ground landed him an invitation to present his cases at the World Expo 2000 in Germany. There he constructed the largest bamboo pavilion in modern days presenting 7 breakthrough initiatives.

Gunter wishes to inspire children to become entrepreneurs, responding to the basic needs of all with what is locally available. As an entrepreneur he created several  companies and his book THE BLUE ECONOMY describes the businesses of the future. Gunter has an MBA, is professor at several universities, and he is father of 5 children.