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Veolia Environnement and UNESCO Sponsor International Environmental Awareness Campaign for Children
LOMBARD, Ill.-(Business Wire)-February 19, 2008 - Veolia Environnement's international environmental awareness campaign for children is now underway in schools across the globe. In partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the annual campaign involves children from all over the world, aged eight to 11, using art and storytelling to explore environmental issues from a cultural point-of-view. "Cities Around the World: When Cities Tell Their Tale" will be the theme of this year's fifth annual campaign. Winning students will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in Paris, France.
Each year more than 64,000 students in 28 countries participate in the curriculum-based educational campaign. This year, interested teachers and students in communities served by Veolia will have a chance to represent their city or town to the rest of the world. Students will work together as a class to create drawings and a short story that communicate the current state of their city or town, and their vision for its future.
"As a company, we are dedicated to environmental stewardship," said Curtis Mabry, VP for Sales, Marketing and Communications at Veolia Environmental Services North America (VESNA). "Through this campaign we are able to encourage children to take a stake in the future of their immediate environment and share ideas for sustainability with peers from different countries."
This corporate-sponsored program provides participating classrooms with professionally developed teaching materials including a teacher's guide and student notebook. The teacher's guide serves as an 'idea box' to help teachers develop discussions with their class. The student notebook allows students to explore the subject individually by using them as personal journals. Both materials fit fully into the framework of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which advocates the integration of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.
At the end of the program, the participating classes submit their work to a panel of judges that chooses one winning class from each registered country. Two selected pupils and the teacher from each winning class represent their country at an awards ceremony in Paris. Last year, America's representatives were from a fourth-grade classroom at Park View Elementary School in Lombard, Ill.
The campaign will run through March 2008, with the Paris awards ceremony occurring during the second week of June 2008. Interested schools or teachers in communities where Veolia has a local operation should contact Moira Heffernan of VESNA for additional information. -0- *T Moira Heffernan Marketing Communications Specialist Veolia Environmental Services North America Corp. Tel: (630) 218-1894 Fax: (630) 218-1895 Email: moira.heffernan@veoliaes.com *T
About Veolia Environnement
Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE) is world leader in environmental services. With more than 300,000 employees, the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenues of $48 billion in 2007. For more information, please visit www.veolia.com.
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