'Friends of the Planet' campaign reaches final round

The 'Friends of the Planet' project launched by Double A with the Ministry of Education and the Central Environmental Authority has reached the final round.

The project aims to create awareness among secondary schoolchildren on the growing impact of climate change and encourage them to come up with fresh and creative solutions to help solve today's problems.

Senior Executive Vice President, Double A, Thirawit Leetavorn said, "We were pleased with the overwhelming response we received. We believe in the power of our children. They have the capacity to understand solutions to big problems and even more crucially increase awareness of how imperative it is for everyone to join the effort to save the planet."

"Students with fresh ideas and thirst for innovation are crucial stakeholders in a new way of life that will help save the planet. Judging from the success of this particular campaign, our belief in young minds was well founded," the Senior Executive Vice President said.

In line with the campaign guidelines, each school selected a team of five students, above 15, to find a cost-effective and ground-breaking solution to an environmental problem. Each team developed and implemented a project within three months under the guidance of a teacher. On completing the project, each team compiled a detailed report which was presented to the panel of judges from Double A for evaluation.

The panel selected twenty-five team projects which move to the next level. The projects were evaluated by a panel comprising representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Central Environmental Authority and Double A, who shortlisted the seven most relevant and successful projects.

These seven projects qualified for the final round of the 'Friends of the Planet' program.

The top projects are from: Ibbagamuwa Central College,Viharamahadevi Girls' College, Kiribathgoda, D.S. Senanayake Central College, Mirigama, Mayurapada Central College, Narammala, Pallivasathurai Maha Vidyalaya, Royal College, Polonnaruwa and Vincent Girls' High School, Batticaloa.

The winning team will be presented tabs and an all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand where the team members will see an award-winning sustainability project carried out by Double A. The 'Paper from Khan-na' project is a landmark effort to make optimum use of agricultural land. It provides an additional source of income to Thai farmers and helps resolve environmental issues in Thailand.

The first and second runners-up will receive tabs and certificates.