Mexicans Wave at Volvo Adventure Victory
10/06/2009
The first prize in the Volvo Adventure, the world’s most significant environmental initiative for young people, has gone to South America for the first time as the HUNAB team from the Yukatan coast of Mexico beat competition for the US$10,000 first prize with the UK’s Isle of Man team in second and India in third.
Students Francisco Chuc, Griselda Gambrielson, Julio Martinez, Sugeily Pech and Vianey Kantún gave the performance of their lives on stage at the Volvo Hall of a project that was universally praised by the International Jury.
Using only 900 litres of water, each child has taken responsibility for a small aquaculture pond, providing a sustainable harvest and a nursery for repopulating the local waterways once they have been cleaned. This ingenious project has allowed the children to earn extra money to support their ongoing schooling and helped to spread the aquaculture ponds to other students and improve their environment.
With a multi-layered, well researched and exceptionally argued case built around aquaponics and hydroponics in the Yukatan wetlands, the HUNAB campaign (HUNAB means the humans and nature living in harmony) which has been underway since 2005 has convincingly demonstrated that economic and environmental sustainability can go hand-in-hand.
Said HUNAB team captain Griselda Gambrielson (15), one of four directors and 30 youngsters involved in the project aged between three to 17-years-old, "We were very proud and honoured just to be here in Gothenburg for the Volvo Adventure World Final, but winning the first prize is amazing." She added "US$10,000 is fantastic when the average monthly salary [in Yukatan ]is US$50 but the money, which we will reinvest in our project is less important than our message, at home and abroad."
Concluded Griselda "This has been a real team effort including our class mates back home in Yukatan and we would like to thank every other team for their congratulations and also a big thank you to Volvo for making this possible."
Siv Persson of WWF, the Chairperson of the Volvo Adventure International Jury said, “All 10 projects were worthy of their place on the global stage, but each of the teams on the podium were exceptional, with Mexico first amongst equals with an innovative and multi-dimensional project.”
Making the presentation to the teams, Lex Kerssemakers, President Volvo Car Overseas at Volvo Car Corporation said, “The connection between Volvo’s brand values and the environment is inexorable and with the Volvo Environment Prize and the Volvo Adventure, Volvo holds the ‘crown jewels’ of the environmental world.”
He added, “The International Jury had an almost impossible task in determining the winners of the eighth Volvo Adventure and there are no winners and losers, only winners and champion winners and my congratulations – and undisguised admiration – go to the HUNAB team from Mexico, the teams from the Isle of Man and India.”
Runners-up and winners of the US$6,000 second prize was the visionary ‘tREeCycle project from the Queen Elizabeth II High School on the Isle of Man and in third place, winning US$4,000 was the Govt. High School Tilak Nagar Gudhiyari in Raipur, India.
The Volvo Adventure is organised by Volvo Cars and AB Volvo is association with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Scouts Association.
www.volvoadventure.org / www.volvocars.com / www.volvo.com / www.unep.org / www.scouts.org