Tag Archive for: entrepreneurship

The Earth Prize 2023 competition: $5,000 prize for the three best Mentors

/in /by

Potrebbe essere un'immagine raffigurante 2 persone e il seguente testo "we're we ooking for mentors ors"

The Earth Foundation is looking for university students passionate about sustainability and entrepreneurship to become MENTORS in The Earth Prize 2023 competition.

Following the successful first edition of The Earth Prize 2022 and a fantastic experience with our Mentors, The Earth Prize 2023 will now recognize not just one but three mentors with The Earth Prize Mentor of the Year award. The three best mentors, as voted by the competition’s Participants, will receive a $5,000 prize each.

The virtual mentoring will take place between September 1st, 2022 and January 31st, 2023 through The Earth Prize online platform. Mentors will contribute to the development of students’ innovative projects by offering them guidance on their projects and answering their questions.

If you know someone who might be interested in sharing their knowledge and making an impact, share this opportunity with them! You can find more information on The Earth Prize Mentors page.

Balkan: from a War Massacre Site to a Sustainable School

/in /by

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.

Earth Foundation: looking for university students mentors for the Earth Prize

/in /by

The Earth Foundation is looking for university students interested in involving as mentors for the young people applying the Earth Prize. Becoming an Earth Prize Mentor is a unique opportunity for university students to share and expand their knowledge on environmental sustainability and entrepreneurship, by advising participants in The Earth Prize, a $200,000 global youth environmental sustainability competition for students between the ages of 13 and 19.

Mentors will contribute to the development of students’ innovative project proposals by offering them guidance on their ideas and answering their questions. Mentors who will have demonstrated the highest levels of engagement will be given the chance to work individually with one of the ten The Earth Prize Finalists.

Each year, the most engaged mentor, as voted by the The Earth Prize participants, will be recognized with the Mentor of the Year award and a $12,500 prize.

All mentors will become part of The Earth Prize Alumni Association, a community of inspiring individuals and organizations offering mentorship, networking, internships, and professional placement opportunities.
Mentors  will have access to a unique network of entrepreneurs thanks to The Earth Foundation’s incubator partnerships and they will be able to connect with inspiring new start-ups leading the way towards environmental sustainability.
Mentoring for the The Earth Prize offers an excellent opportunity to develop and showcase transferable skills such as project management, problem-solving, and consulting. Each mentor will receive a certificate upon completion.
All mentors will have access to The Earth Prize learning platform featuring bespoke online materials on environmental issues, interviews with activists and social entrepreneurs, and real-world practical skill training on how to effect change.

Joining The Earth Prize as a mentor allow to actively contribute to projects striving to make a positive impact on the environment and to serve as a role model for younger students, inspiring them to become future changemakers.

Application will close June 30th.  Fill the form here to become a mentor.