Young people from all over Spain have participated in the Endesa Foundation's VIII Eco-Innovation Awards with more than 400 projects concerned with biodiversity and care of the environment

• In the eighth edition of these awards, 352 Primary, Secondary, A-Level, Special Education and Vocational Training schools from all over Spain participated with 463 projects focussed on caring for the environment and protecting biodiversity.
• Schools have until April 26 to develop and present their final initiatives and compete for one of the seven prizes that will be awarded at the end of this school year.
• The winning projects will be chosen by a jury taking into account their originality, their innovative nature and their applicability to reality.

The Endesa Foundation has selected 463 initiatives focussed on caring for the environment and protecting biodiversity proposed by 352 Primary, Secondary, A-Level, Special Education and Vocational Training Schools from all over Spain to participate in the eighth edition of the Eco-innovation Awards. Teachers and students participating in this call have until April to develop and submit their final proposals. In this edition, the autonomous communities that have registered the highest number of projects have been Andalusia, Cantabria and the Valencian Community. 

The aim of the Eco-innovation Awards, an initiative that has been operating since 2016 in collaboration with the European Foundation for Society and Education, is to promote the dissemination of environmental knowledge in the educational field and to enable participating students to improve their eco-biosocial knowledge, skills and attitudes, as well as acknowledging their commitment to ecological culture, care for the environment and the protection of biodiversity.

With this initiative, students not only learn and develop their interest in knowing how to move towards sustainable environmental conservation, but they also manage to benefit their cities and generate an environment of responsibility in the communities. So far, 1,500 education centres throughout Spain have participated in the Eco-innovation Awards. 

The eighth edition of the Endesa Foundation's Eco-Innovation Awards represents a record for participation with the registration of 542 projects, 120 more than in the previous edition, figures that reflect the growing interest and commitment of teachers and students in Spain to the care of the environment and the preservation of biodiversity.

These results were possible as a result of the support of the Departments and Directorates-General of Education in each Autonomous Community and entities in the education and environmental sector which were actively involved once again in providing information on the awards, and publishing the call.

The selected schools participate with their projects in one of the three categories of these awards: "Understanding our Biodiversity", "Identifying solutions for an environmental problem" and "Improving your environment". A Jury will choose the winners taking into account the originality, creativity and quality of the projects, as well as their innovative nature and applicability in similar contexts.

The prize for the winning initiatives consists of a financial contribution of €2,000 for the first prize and €1,000 for the second prize in Categories 1 and 2, and €4,000 for the first prize and €1,000 for the second prize in Category 3. The Jury may award a special mention, consisting of a prize of €1,000 to projects that do not reach the required technical level but that stand out for their social impact, solidarity and the participation of students with special abilities or who are at risk of social exclusion.

Check the terms and conditions here.

About the Endesa Foundation

The Endesa Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary. A quarter of a century of social work that enables us to look to the future with the challenge of continuing to progress, with a broad and conscious look at human beings and the rest of the species that surround us to build a world in which there is room for everyone.  

To this end, the Endesa Foundation contributes to social development and biodiversity conservation through education, job training, culture, volunteering and urban biodiversity projects so that there is a future in which we can all live together in balance. 

For further information go to: www.fundacionendesa.org

About the European Foundation for Society and Education 

The European Foundation Society and Education is a private and independent entity that promotes research and debates on the multiple aspects that shape the strategic role of education as a foundation for the progress and development of democratic societies. 

Through its research department, it promotes studies, debates and analyses on current educational issues that are approached from an interdisciplinary perspective. It has a line of work dedicated to the promotion of environmental education from a perspective of integral ecology.