Popular Choice Award Winners and Nominees of the Adventures of Young Planet Guardians Storytelling Competition Announced

• A total of 21,636 popular vote participants casted 146,418 votes
• 120 out of 658 submissions from children won the Popular Choice Award on World Oceans Day
• The list of finalists has been announced on the official storytelling competition website: www.contest.covestro.tw

The World Oceans Day 2022 theme is “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean”. The National Environmental Storytelling Competition, a month-long competition judged by popularity voting, started on World Earth Day on April 22. The competition is co-organized by Covestro Taiwan, the Ministry of Education, wpd Taiwan, and more than 10 other organizations including the German Institute Taipei, the German Trade Office Taipei, the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan, and the National Parks Division of the Construction and Planning Agency (CPA). Through children telling stories about the ocean and making commitments to our planet, the goal of the competition is to raise public awareness and further encourage collective waste sorting and the adoption of 3R actions (reduce, reuse, recycle) to protect and revitalize our ocean. The voting attracted a total of 21,636 participants across Taiwan, who cast 146,418 votes. 120 out of 658 submissions from children in 107 schools were selected for the Popular Choice Award. The nominated finalists were announced on the “Brighter Minds for a Brighter World” Environmental Storytelling Competition website on World Oceans Day.

Cheng Jing-yi, a the mother of a child in a Popular Choice Award-winning team from Hsinchu Songlin Elementary School and a teacher at said school, said “This is a very meaningful environmental storytelling competition. In the process of preparation, the children think about how to contribute to our planet and discuss how to protect our ocean resources. I hope that these heartfelt commitments not only leave a lasting mark on the young minds but also spread to the people close to them, so that we can all protect the planet together and revitalize our ocean.” The children taught by Cheng Jing-yi, who was the group instructor for four different teams, all won the Popular Choice Award. The most popular submission of the competition was the “Zero-plastic Low-emissions Island”, a well-known target of Xiao Liuqiu, by Cai Wei-xian of Quande Elementary School, which received 4,949 popularity votes.

Kelly S. C. KOK, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute of Taiwan, said “The ocean covers 70% of the earth’s surface. It is the greatest source of oxygen, it absorbs the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, improves climate change, nurtures countless animals and plants, and is an important source of proteins for humans. Without the ocean, we cannot survive. But we knew little about the ocean until very recently. As Dr. Jane Goodall said, “Only with understanding is there caring; only with caring is there action; only with action is there hope in life.” We hope that these stories will help the children understand the current environmental challenges and have specially prepared a signed copy of Dr. Jane Goodall’s book as one of the judge’s prizes, in the hope that more children will become young guardians of our planet.”

Wu Hsin-Hsou, Director General of Construction and Planning Agency Ministry of the Interior, further added, “Through the process of the children telling their environmental stories, they can be guided through learning about the issues of the environment and the ecosystem. I believe these stories will take root in a child’s heart, much like a seed, and gradually sprout as the child grows. The child will continue to be aware of environmental topics and become future warriors of environment conservation. It is precisely the goal of the National Environmental Storytelling Competition, co-organized by the CPA and Covestro Taiwan, to have the participating public learn about our environmental and ecosystem issues through storytelling. The competition hopes to inspire collective interactive participation and join everyone’s efforts into environmental and ecological protection through mutual exchanges.” The CPA National Parks Division also provided the “Taiwan National Parks from Above” DVD as one of the judge’s prizes, hoping that it will encourage the young winners to love our beautiful land even more by seeing Taiwan through the eyes of the late director Chi Po-lin.

Chen Chii-shiarng, Director-General at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, pointed out that “The world’s civilizations often originated aside of water resources. The limitless treasures inside of our oceans not only supply resources of life, but also inspire the vitality and creativity of mankind. The numerous important findings that marine biology studies have discovered and archived to date have been the foundation of the accelerated development in biology, medicine and pharmacy, and related sciences. Taiwan is located on the top of the Southeast Asia Coral Triangle, a main spot along the Kuroshio Current. The clear and warm surrounding waters and diverse marine life offer countless materials to be explored. Childhood is the most imaginative and creative period in life. The ocean’s materials provide children with all kinds of stimulation and inspirations. It is perfect for cultivating future interpreters of life. Participation in this activity allows children to ‘learn about the ocean’ first, then ‘become close to our ocean’, and maybe even ‘go into the ocean’ in the future. It allows the ocean to become a part of our future lives and makes us appreciate even more the beauties provided to us by the ocean.”

Yuni Wang, Chairperson of wpd Taiwan Energy, said “wpd has a long history of dedication to renewable energy education and environmental conservation. We hope to further raise the Taiwanese public awareness of energy transition and national zero-emissions goals. A well-protected climate is essential to protecting the ocean. This activity allows children to begin to realize the importance of marine ecology and to further reflect on how their power as a small child can protect the giant ocean. It is a very meaningful activity.”

Michael Lee, Covestro Taiwan Managing Director, stressed that, “From the submissions to this competition, we see the deep love the children holds for our planet and our ocean. Every participating child is the best spokesperson for our ocean. They have also showed us that as long as we work together, we have a chance of revitalizing our ocean. As sign language will be officially included in the Development of National Languages Act in the 2022 school year, we have especially added the competitive team for the school of the hearing-impaired. This competition is not to find the best storytelling child as the judge’s prize winners of their category, but rather to offer all the children across Taiwan and our offshore islands with an equal opportunity to win the prize. As we protect our planet, let us also welcome a diverse, equal, and inclusive society!” A total of 658 children from 107 schools participated in the competition, including the sign language category. A total of 118 submissions from 24 teams progressed to the competitive category finals. The list of the finalists has been announced on the competition’s website www.contest.covestro.tw

About the Brighter Minds for a Brighter World💕 National Environmental Education Story Contest

This contest has been organized by Covestro Taiwan with wpd Taiwan serving as a co-organizer, and the Ministry of Education serving as an advisor. Supporting institutions include the German Institute Taipei, the ECCT Low Carbon Initiative, the German Trade Office Taipei, the Jane Goodall Institute Taiwan, the National Parks and Natural Parks, the Construction and Planning Agency, the National Taiwan Science Education Center, the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Science and Technology Museum, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquariums, and media partner CSR@CW. The contest is aimed at children below 12 years old. Its mission is to make children aware of the current environmental challenges facing humankind and encourage them to make a commitment to protecting the Earth.

About Covestro:

Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are used in sectors such as sports and leisure, cosmetics and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.

The company is committed to becoming fully circular and aims to become climate neutral by 2035 (scope 1 and 2). Covestro generated sales of around EUR 15.9 billion in fiscal 2021. At the end of 2021, the company had 50 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,900 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).

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