Innovative Rzeszów Students Tackle Sustainability: Norwegian Circular School Challenge Success!

After two remarkable days, the first-ever Norwegian Circular School Challenge titled “We are closing the circuit (in our school)!” has concluded, leaving a trail of inspiration across Rzeszów. Our city’s students and their dedicated guardians have worked tirelessly to develop forward-thinking solutions with the potential to resonate beyond local borders.

Guided by exceptional moderators and teachers, these young minds translated the Norwegian model of sustainability into practical ideas for the Rzeszów school system. On the second day of the hackathon, the participants, supported by their school guardians, took to the streets to engage with the residents and gather their thoughts on the proposed ideas, further polishing their presentations.

This invaluable street-side research provided an amazing experience for our students and proved to be a significant motivator in refining their concepts. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the 🫶 Residents of Rzeszów for the warmth and insight they offered to our hackathon participants.

We take pride in stating that every student who took on the challenge has emerged victorious. A huge round of 🏆🍀 applause goes to these young visionaries for their eagerness to delve into closed-loop systems, for proudly representing our city on the international stage, and for establishing exemplary practices that scale beyond the confines of standard adult discourse on closed circuits.

Today marks the dawn of a pivotal collaboration that has opened young eyes to the pressing environmental issues at hand. The educational initiatives presented during this 2-day challenge aim to arm the community with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to work towards a sustainable life. Our mission 💪 is to foster a conscious social transformation that empowers everyone to live dignified lives today and in the future, whilst considering our planet’s capacity.

Congratulations to the students for their exemplary work and the well-deserved accolades:

🥇 First place was awarded to the students from Primary School No. 21 with Bilingual Departments, Home Army in Rzeszów. 🥈 Second place was taken by the students from Primary School No. 25, Primate of the Millennium in Rzeszów. 🥉 Third place was earned by the students from the School and Kindergarten Complex No. 9, Primary School No. 19 in Rzeszów.

Next year, the winning schools will have an opportunity on a journey to implement selected elements of school innovation on a micro-scale in collaboration with the Municipality of Rzeszów.

Here’s to the young leaders shaping a greener future! 🌱🌏

This initiative couldn’t happened if not for the enthusiasm and cooperation of Urban Lab in Rzeszow, Municipality of Rzeszów, with special credit to Mr Konrad Fjołek, the President of the city and Department of Education and the EEA-funded project in Poland.