• Over 97% of the visitors said that they were very satisfied with the activities carried out through the Endesa Educa programme.
• There are plans to roll out the initiative across Spain and to introduce it in Latin America.
Endesa Educa, Endesa's education programme, ended 2011 with 19,494 students having taken part in its activities, a year-on-year rise of 9.4%. The participants in Endesa's educational programme belonged to 357 educational centres (+32% year-on-year), with 38% in secondary and 36% in primary schools. The rest were A-level students or students enrolled in other educational and public schemes.
In addition to the students at the educational centres, a total of 44,367 visits were recorded by Endesa Educa to its “Incredible Energy” travelling marquee, an exhibition on the world of energy where visitors learn about ways of conserving energy. The cities of Barcelona and Girona were the first to host this initiative, which will visit Madrid and Seville in 2012.
Overall, Endesa Educa has carried out 715 activities, of which 54% took place in Catalonia, 15% in southern Spain, 13% in Aragón, 12% in the Balearics and 6% in the north-east of the country. The Endesa Educa team handled around 2,000 enquiries, which included requests to visit facilities and educational centres and to receive general information. There are currently information centres in Catalonia, Aragón and the Balearic Islands, while visits to a thermal plant, three combined cycle plants, a substation and hydroelectric and wind facilities can also be arranged through the programme. Steps are being taken for other installations to be made available to the Endesa Educa team.
The success of the initiative is evidenced by the high level of satisfaction of participants (97.4% declare themselves very satisfied with the activities), the loyalty of the users (79% of the requests are from customers who have made reservations in previous years), and the steady increase in the number of requests.
Endesa Educa is a high quality educational initiative designed to promote a new social conscience based on sustainability and energy efficiency. It offers an array of free activities aimed at educational centres in Spain and information activities for anyone who seeks access to them, raising awareness about the value of energy, dealing with topics such as how to save energy around the home, and giving tours of some of Endesa's electricity facilities.
Thus, the scope of the project is not restricted to the education of students and teachers. Endesa Educa dedicates part of its training initiatives and other actions to city councils, neighbourhood associations, and certified technicians.
The main aims of Endesa Educa are:
• To encourage efficient, rational use of electricity. • To provide activities and aids for teachers to work with topics related to energy resources and electricity, always within the context of an educational curriculum. • To provide strategies for analysing our use of electricity: why and how we use it. • To provide basic information about electricity: what it is, where it comes from and why it is so important. • To raise awareness about aspects related to the production, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity. • To raise awareness of the importance of energy for a better quality of life. • To publicise the activities of power companies like Endesa.
Endesa Educa was launched in Catalonia in 2005, although it is based on a previous initiative that started in the 1990s. In total, more than 300,000 people have taken part in Endesa's educational programme, which is being rolled out in other autonomous regions. Activities are currently being carried out in the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, Extremadura, Aragón, the Canary Islands, Galicia, Castile León and Madrid, and the company plans to extend the initiative throughout Spain and even to Latin America.
We would highlight the innovative nature of the programme, which in addition to the activities being offered at the Endesa information centres and facilities, also has an on-line component via its webpage, which comprises numerous virtual activities and downloadable interactive resources: www.endesaeduca.com, which already has 400 users. This portal also has an application called “toolbar” which calculates the energy consumption of the user's computer. Those wishing to participate in any of these free activities can make a reservation by calling 902500049, or by emailing endesaeduca@endesa.es .