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UNESCO "Realise the Dream" winner announced PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:00

 

 UNESCO REALISE THE DREAM WINNER ANNOUNCED

 
Outstanding Cambridge High School Year 13 student, Jake Martin, has won this year’s UNESCO Senior Student Award in the national science and research, Realise the Dream competition.
“Jake’s innovative research has the potential to produce some revolutionary new materials. For a scientist of any age, these inventions are truly exceptional,” says NZ National Commission for UNESCO chair, Bryan Gould.
“UNESCO’s natural science programme aims to promote sustainable development options and champion science and research amongst secondary schools.  Jake’s project encompasses both of these visions.”
Over the past year, Jake discovered that charcoal produced by his clean wood burning engine  - last year’s supreme Realise the Dream winner - was paramagnetic.  This was a significant discovery that saw him working long hours alongside scientists at Waikato University where he is also taking some university papers.  As well as a top scientist and inventor, 18-year-old Jake is also a champion rower and House Leader at his college.
Twenty nine extraordinary science students from all over New Zealand are selected to take part in the annual Realise the Dream event that is organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand.  Genesis Energy is the event’s principal sponsor, Dairy NZ and the NZ National Commission for UNESCO are supporting partners.
All participants took part in a six-day series of events in December 2009 with winners announced tonight at an awards dinner in Wellington.
“Every young researcher selected to take part in Realise the Dream are innovators and leaders in their fields.  I congratulate them all on their determination, acumen and enquiring minds,” says Mr Gould.
UNESCO is the only United Nations specialised agency with a specific mandate to promote science and education. "Realise the Dream" sits within UNESCO's commitment to science and its recognition of the role the application of science plays in international cooperation towards peace, human rights and development.

Realise the Dream

Royal Society of NZ
 
Thursday, 22 October 2009 12:14

Wellington Youth Climate Forum 2009

What causes global climate change? What are its consequences?  What are our potential solutions?  These were some of the issues considered by more than 60 secondary students attending the Wellington Youth Climate Forum (WYCF) at Victoria University in September.  The NZ National Commission for UNESCO helped make the forum possible with a grant from the 2009 UCAF fund.  Students also planned and carried out a range of public actions to draw attention to climate change that included: making chalk art mural on Lambton Quay; handing out certificates to passengers at the railway station; writing a press release; and prepring a 'communique'.  The final part of the forum saw participants use the skills they gained over the weekend to begin planning further action for fellow classmates in their respective schools on the 23rd October 2009: 350 Schools Day of Action on Climate Change.  Several students also became active participants on the ReGeneration Network: a social networking site with more than 270 youth members.
 
Monday, 03 August 2009 17:08

SANZ to Launch Blueprint for Global Sustainability

In September, Sustainable Aotearoa NZ or SANZ is to release the resource, “Strong Sustainability for NZ: principles and scenarios”.  A blueprint for sustainability that replaces the widely-used triple bottom line measure and instead gives social, environmental, and economic values equal weighting, with a model that gives greater priority to ecological values in order to sustain the natural systems and resources societies rely upon.  For more information: http://www.phase2.org