zEROwASTE Hackers

The Panhellenic Student Competition "zEROwASTER Hackers" is part of the "zEROwASTERs" project and is funded by the Green Fund. The aim of the competition is to give students of the EPALs the opportunity to highlight the advantages of applying the principles of zero waste to the environment, to raise awareness among their peers about the impacts of climate change and to contribute in this way to the strengthening of the adaptive capacity of Greek society.

The competition is addressed to students of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lyceum of the country's secondary schools, who will be invited to participate by submitting a research project in one of the following categories:

• Poster / Photos
• Video / Podcast
• Zero waste constructions (ideas for reusing materials)

The competition will run from its announcement on 29 October 2024 until the winners are awarded on 11 April 2025, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions on intellectual property and data protection and with the consent of parents/guardians.

The competition will be implemented by Eco Active, the "Regional Directorate of Education" and the "2nd EPAL Komotini" with the support of the Municipality of Komotini.

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Notice of the Tender

1^ous  Panhellenic Student Competition
zEROwASTER Hackers: smart solutions for the environment

The Panhellenic School Competition "zEROwASTER Hackers" is part of the project "zEROwASTERs", under Priority Axis 4 "INNOVATIVE ACTIONS WITH CITIZENS", of the funding programme "NATURAL ENVIRONMENT & INNOVATIVE ACTIONS 2022, Green Fund. 

Zero waste is a philosophy and practice that aims to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and the environment by encouraging the reuse and repair of items, the composting of organic waste and the careful selection of products with eco-friendly packaging. The aim is to create a cycle where materials are reintroduced into the production process, reducing the extraction of natural resources and minimising environmental impact.

Starting from the philosophy of zero waste and the energy upgrade of the 2nd EPAL Komotini, a holistic programme was designed, during which the children were exposed to the concepts of zero waste, climate change, resilience and sustainable development. The creative collaboration within the programme between education, business and local government not only helped to reduce the environmental footprint of the building, but also to raise awareness among the building's users - pupils, teachers and parents.

In this way, the benefits of energy interventions and environmental education are extended from the school environment to the wider society, reinforcing the sense of joint effort and creative adaptation of our everyday life to the principles of zero-waste. 

With the national student competition, we want to listen to and highlight the ideas of students from all over the country and in this way map the view of young people towards the climate crisis. 

Objective 

The aim of the "zEROwASTE Hackers" student competition is to give students of the country's National Technical High Schools the opportunity to highlight the advantages of the principles of zero waste in the environment, to raise awareness among their peers about the effects of climate change and to contribute in this way to the strengthening of the adaptive capacity of Greek society.

Conditions of participation

The competition is addressed to students of all the country's secondary schools. The students of A, B and C Lyceum can participate either individually or in groups, presenting smart solutions that will contribute to promoting the principles of zero waste, with the consent of their guardian (a written declaration is required) and will be rewarded for their efforts. 

The students of EPAL will be invited to participate in the competition by submitting a research project which should focus on "promoting the principles of zero waste" in our daily lives, in one of the following categories:

1. Poster/ Photos
2. Video/ Podcast
3. Zero waste constructions (ideas for reusing materials) 

Students can participate individually or in a group. The team can consist of one teacher and two to seven students from the same school. Teachers can participate in more than one group, but pupils can only participate in one group. The role of the teacher is purely advisory, to help and guide the pupils.

Timetable of the Panhellenic Student Competition: 

Phase A: Opening of the competition / Submission of entries: 29 October 2024 to 2 March 2025: At this stage, interested students of the EPAL can submit their entries for the competition through our online platform  https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/, following the instructions in the Annex. 

The works of the students of each EPAL will be sent by post, as a single shipment from each school, by 2 March 2025 (postmark) to the following address: 2nd EPAL Komotini,  Geor. Papandreou, Komotini 691 00

Phase B: Evaluation: 03 March 2025 to 26 March 2025: Evaluation of the projects and announcement of at least three (3) shortlisted projects per category (if there are relevant nominations) 

Phase 3: Presentation / Awards: 11 April 2025 - Presentation of the projects and awarding of the three (3) most successful projects per category

Method of Conduct: Physical presence or at a distance 

Cost of participation: Free

Valuation process: At the end of the national competition, an evaluation report is prepared, which includes the following information: 1) the number of participating school units, 2) the identification data of the participating school units (name, Directorate of Education, IDD), 3) the number of beneficiaries - participating students, 4) the results of the evaluation of the programme, which will be carried out by the completion of a questionnaire by teachers and students at the end of the event. 

Awards: Prizes will be awarded to the students of the three (3) most successful projects per category.

• 1st Prize: 400 €
• 2nd Prize: 200 €
• 3rd Prize: 100 €

Special gift: The 100 first entries will receive a reusable thermos for water.

Certificate of participation will be given to all students who submit proposals and are approved by the evaluation committee. 

Organization: KINSEP "EcoActive", "Regional Directorate of Education", "2^ο EPAL Komotini"

Contact: 

• Electronic communication via the platform https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/
• Contact phone : 2531027158, director of the 2nd EPAL Komotini, Dr. Lemonia Darginidou.

Notes:

1. The participation of students in the competition is voluntary and requires the signed consent of parents and guardians.
2. There will be no income from the submitted works (through marketing or advertising, etc.) and participation in all phases of the competition will be free of charge.
3. The competition will take place outside the timetable, and the teaching of the individual subjects will not be burdened, but instead it will be enriched and expanded in a creative way, always in accordance with the objectives set in the Curriculum.
4. Publication of all works will be for educational purposes only.
5. The organizing body undertakes the entire process of implementing the competition and its conduct (implementation, awarding, management of works sent and awarded works, publicity) will be carried out in accordance with the rules of ethics for the protection of the personal data of the participating students (and in accordance with the provisions of Law 2121/1993 "Intellectual property, related rights and cultural issues", Government Gazette 25, Vol.) 
6. The participation of the school units consists in the promotion of the terms of the competition by the principals and teachers as well as the appointment of a teacher as the person responsible for coordinating, monitoring and posting/transmitting the students' entries.
7. Any travel expenses incurred by the students for their participation in the competition are borne solely by the students themselves. 
8. The notification and dissemination of publicity about this competition should be done in a fair and appropriate manner.

The Organizing Committee 

• Kosmidou Marigoula, (Deputy Regional Director of AMTH)
• Charalambidou Efrosini (Regional Supervisor of Quality of Education of the Regional Directorate of Education of AMTH)
• Darginidou Lemonia (Director of the 2nd EPAL Komotini)
• Dapergolas Nektarios (Director of the 1st EPAL Komotini)
• Thomaidou Evangelia (Secondary Education Teacher)
• Tsakos Zafiris (Educational Programmes Consultant, zEROwASTERs)
• Tsolaki Artemis (Project Manager, zEROwASTERs)

The Scientific Committee

• Moyas Athanasios (Associate Professor at the Department of Education in the Protection of the Natural Environment, University of Thrace)
• Kosmidou Marigoula, (Deputy Regional Director of AMTH)
• Konstantinos Kontos (PAMTH Vocational Training Advisor)
• Αθανάσιος Καρακατσάνης (Διευθυντής Εργοστασίου Sunlight Recycling) 
• Christos Lachtaras (Health & Safety Manager, Adapa)

The Evaluation Committee 

The projects will be evaluated according to the guidelines given in the annex, by the evaluation committee consisting of:

• Moyas Athanasios (Associate Professor at the Department of Education in the Protection of the Natural Environment, University of Thrace)
• Kosmidou Marigoula, (Deputy Regional Director of AMTH)
• Konstantinos Kontos (PAMTH Vocational Training Advisor)
• Athanasios Karatsanis (Sunlight Recycling Plant Manager) 
• Christos Lachtaras (Health & Safety Manager, Adapa)
• Zoakis Nikos (Photographer, member of the Photography Group of Komotini and the Centre for Creative Photography of Thrace)
• Karagioulmezis Ioannis (Art Director)

Annex

Instructions:

The projects and the student & guardian consent forms must be submitted electronically on the platform: https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/

Each student or group of students may submit up to one (1) entry per category.

Projects will be evaluated on the basis of:

1. originality & creativity,
2. a global approach to the issue of zero waste
3. focus on the issue of adapting to zero waste principles,
4. the possibility of spreading the message about the need to adapt to zero waste principles, and
5. overall picture of the result.

Will distinguished in total 9 projects, which will be posted on the official communication channels of the implementing body of the competition and on its official communication channels. Prizes will be awarded to the winning projects in each category. All students submitting proposals will be given certificates of participation and their works will also be posted on the official communication channels of the competition organiser. You will require a Declaration of Acceptance from the student's parents/guardians that they accept the publication of his/her work in electronic or printed media, in accordance with the terms of the call for entries.

Collages and videos may not depict students unless the consent of the guardian is obtained. Consent must be evidenced in writing by signing an affidavit, which must be sent with the work and entry form. In the absence of the declaration, the entry will not be accepted.

Each entry must not contain material that infringes anyone's copyrights, trademarks or patents. An entry must not contain material that is inappropriate, obscene, abusive or defamatory.

1) Poster and Photo Creation

• The category is open to students of all grades of the EPAL, either individually or in groups.
• The dimensions of the work should be at least 20X30 cm (A4) or larger for photographs and 59.4X84.1 cm (A1) for posters.
• In case of remote presentation, the submission of the works should be done electronically, with a photo or scanned pdf of the work in good resolution, on the platform https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/
• The originals should be kept in case more photos are requested or the project is sent by post. 

2) Video and Podcast creation

• The category is open to students of the EPAL classes, either individually or in groups.
• The originals should be posted on the conducting platform https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/
• Video resolution should be at least 720p (HD): 1280×720.
• The duration can be from 5 to 8 minutes.
• Original creations are preferred (script, shooting, music, animation, stop-motion, etc.).

3) Creating zero waste constructions (ideas for reusing materials)

• The category is open to students of all grades of the EPAL, either individually or in groups.
• The materials to be used must be made exclusively from recyclable materials.
• Projects should be accompanied by a summary of the idea and the main principles and proposals of the project.
• Abstracts should be sent electronically to the platform https://eco-active.gr/zerowaste-hackers/
• In the case of remote presentation, contractual works should be sent to the following address Geor. Papandreou, Komotini 691 00