21 Ara Energy and Education during EDUvillage in Thessaloniki

Last week it was really “hot” in Thessaloniki as the 38th National Selection Conderence of EYP Greece supported from the Power Shifts Fund 2018 took place. Around 200 participants from all around the country had a chance to discuss energy related and environmental topics under the frame of the session’s overall motto: “Contemporary education in an ever – changing world; Rethinking the approach of modern education systems in a rapidly progressing society”.

We had a chance to talk to one of the Head Organisers of the session, Elisavet Sidiropoulou who shared with us her impressions as well as her opinion on the future of Europe’s energy.

How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

I would say I am a very ambitious and hard working individual who enjoys engaging with a variety of projects and activities.

Tell us a bit about your involvement at the session.

I am one of the Head Organisers of the session and over the past 9 months I have been working on various portfolios ranging from fundraising to public relations and participants’ support.

How did you implement the Power Shifts concept?

In the 38th National Selection Conference of EYP Greece we have combined a variety of elements in order to approach the Power Shifts concept. Academically speaking, two out of ten committees of the session are dealing with energy-related matters. In our attempt to take a step further from what is being discussed within those two committees, we came up with the idea of an interactive event that we call “EDUvillage” and which includes all the delegates of the session. EDUvillage is a concept that focuses on connecting various topics with education. During this event, several workshops will take place for the delegates to attend and one of those workshops will be focusing on energy. With the help of an expert, we will be giving the delegates a chance to familiarise themselves with how energy can be connected with education in an interactive manner. With education standing as a building block to make the youth more aware of environmental matters, we believe that the interaction of the delegates with the expert and the workshops will allow them to have a better overview on the future of energy and on how that can be conceptualised by the citizens.

How do you foresee the future of energy in Europe?

Seeing as we seek to build on sustainability, I would say that an essential aspect to consider is the social one. Ensuring renewable resources, proper management as well as responsible consumption of energy is a collective act. The environment is something that affects the entirety of citizens and thus, something that we should invest in through education and innovation. Ideally, Europe will rise to full energy independency and environmental sustainability through social participation, ranging from the basics of recycling to more complex matters such as total decarbonisation.

Together with innogy foundation, we intend to reach out to over 1000 EYPers per year to empower their ability to give a competent response to the energy-related challenges and significantly expand their knowledge on the topic and make energy a debatable issue.