The final event of the Republican Festival of Ecological Ideas and Projects, part of the National Social Eco-Campaign “Sustainable Path,” took place on May 11, 2024, in Almaty. This festival, a significant milestone in the Sustainable Path project, aimed to engage young people aged 16 to 35 in addressing pressing environmental issues in Kazakhstan. Here’s a closer look at the event and the outstanding projects that emerged.
Goals and Participation
The Republican Festival is designed to:
- Raise Environmental Awareness: Educate youth about current ecological problems.
- Promote Solutions: Encourage innovative ideas to solve these problems.
Out of more than 300 applications, 10 finalist teams were selected. These teams underwent online training with experts before competing in the final event for a total prize fund of 15 million tenge.
Event Highlights
The festival’s jury evaluated the presentations and selected the best projects, awarding financial support to help the teams bring their ideas to life. This year’s final included high school teams for the first time, highlighting the initiative’s broad appeal.
Meet the Winners
First Place: MUNARA Project
- Prize: 6 million tenge
- Innovation: An innovative system for growing plants.
Second Place: BEELIEVE Project
- Prize: 4 million tenge
- Innovation: A cutting-edge beehive monitoring system that allows beekeepers to check on their hives remotely.
Third Place: CARBONICK Project
- Prize: 3 million tenge
- Innovation: Research on extracting pure hydrogen from greenhouse gases.
Incentive Prizes
- JANARU and OSKIN each received 1 million tenge for their promising ideas.
Supporting Sustainable Development
Bolat Akchulakov, President of the Kazakhstan National Federation of Clubs for UNESCO, emphasized the project’s impact:
“Having gathered about ten thousand participants since its launch in 2020, Sustainable Path has become a key initiative of our Federation aimed at promoting one of UNESCO’s priorities in the field of ESD. I am confident that this initiative contributes to changing the minds of young people, drawing public attention to the problems of preserving the environment and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.”
Partners and Support
The success of the Sustainable Path project is thanks to the collaboration of several key partners:
- General Partner: Bank CenterCredit
- Official Partner: Chevron
- Support: National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ICESCO, UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, and Akimat of Almaty
- Media Partners: Alash Media Group and Nur Media holdings
Looking Ahead
The Sustainable Path project continues to inspire and empower young people to take action for the environment. The innovative ideas presented at this year’s festival demonstrate the potential of youth-driven solutions in tackling ecological challenges.
Stay tuned for more updates on these exciting projects and the future of the Sustainable Path initiative.
