ECOMOBILITY 2023-2024 – Press Release

Ecomobility Wins!

The Excellence of the school teams ECOMOBILITY 2023-24 has been awarded!!

The 2nd Gymnasium of Nea Filadelfeia and the 4th Gymnasium of Patras, participating in the ECOMOBILITY program for the first time, were distinguished with the 1st Prize for best project and the Award for technology and interdisciplinary application. The 8-member teams will be hosted at the ECOCITY ecocamp!!

In the parallel activities of the program, FREEMOBILITY for Special education Schools and ECO2MOBILITY for Second Chance Schools, the best performances were achieved by E.E.E.E.K. Aigiou and S.D.E. Artas respectively. The award ceremony took place on Saturday, April 27th, in the event hall of the School of Public Health at the University of West Attica. The event, which was joyful and enriched with performances and audiovisual productions, was attended by representatives from the political leadership, regional and local administration, the academic community, and civil society.

Τhe event progressed with a simultaneous presentation of the ECOMOBILITY footprint over its 20 years of implementation and the results of the students’ projects for the 2023-24 school year. This highlighted issues of urban sustainable mobility and the shift in mindset among citizens and administrators in addressing climate change.

The award ceremony was addressed by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Christos Staikouras, and the commendations were presented by the Secretary General of Forests, Efstathios Stathopoulos, the Secretary General of Public Health, Fofo Kalyva, the Deputy Regional Governor of Central Athens, Konstantinos Zombos, the Deputy Regional Governor of Education of Attica, Evridiki Prezerakou, the Head of the Traffic Police Directorate of Attica, Brigadier Christos Papafillipou, and the representative of the EU office in Athens, Haris Kountouros. Of great importance was the presence and collaboration with the students of the Mayor of Nea Filadelfeia, Giannis Tombouloglou, and the Deputy Mayor of Education, Goulas Alekos, the Deputy Mayor of Piraeus, Dimitrios Karydis, the Mayor of Sikyona (Kiato), Spyridon Stamatopoulos, the Deputy Mayors of Athens, Maria Evaggelidou and Nikos Chrysogelos, and the Secretary General of the Municipality of Maroussi and Member of “Kleisthenes,” Mary Galazoula. Touching messages were sent by the Deputy Minister of Development, Anna Mani-Papadimitriou, MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos, and Olympian & candidate MEP Pyrros Dimas.

In the other categories, the participants were distinguished as follows:

Special Education Schools:

• EN.E.E.GYL of East Thessaloniki for the creativity of their project
• EN.E.E.GYL of Kalamata for the extroversion that characterized their experiential learning process.

Second Chance Schools:

• SDE of Nea Propontida for their humorous – yet pointed – audiovisual productions
• SDE of Ierapetra for their extroversion with a supra-local character

General Education Schools:

• Gymnasium of Doukas Schools for the multiple creative expressions of their students
• Gymnasium of the Holy Metropolis of Piraeus for their effective interaction with society
• Gymnasium of Farres, Erymanthos for their constructions and games
• Gymnasium of Zipari, Kos for their dissemination and networking activities within the local community

Noteworthy were the evaluations of the projects by the students of the Gymnasium of “Platon” Schools in Katerini, the 1st Gymnasium of Piraeus, and the 3rd Gymnasium of Agios Dimitrios.

The projects of EPAL Kiato and GEL Palamas Karditsas, which participated in the program on a pilot basis outside the competitive process, as well as those of the Gymnasium of Neos Gynaikokastro Kilkis and Gymnasium of Lefkopigi Kozanis,
whose student teams included students from all grades, were considered to have a multifaceted approach.

Αdditionally, in recognition of their practical and long-term support for ECOMOBILITY, commendatory titles were bestowed upon the Traffic Department of the Hellenic Police, the national sponsors Toyota, COMBATT, ELPE, and SEAA, the communication sponsors DIRECTION, WebOlution, EcoTech, Natura nrg, and Autotriti, as well as the hospitality and transportation sponsors AirOtel, REX Kalamata, and Blue Star Ferries. The Municipalities of Nea Propontida, Nea Filadelfeia, Sikyona, and Piraeus, which significantly contributed to the students’ efforts, also received congratulatory praises.

The event concluded with the gratitude of the Organizing Committee towards the 35 collaborating scientific, social, and professional entities, the volunteer coordinators, and assessors of ECOMOBILITY, renewing the appointment for the next school year!