Talented teenagers have their say on sustainability at European Parliament

Each of the winners produced and starred in a short video to enter the "Have your say on sustainability" competition

Eight talented teenagers – Elllie and Lucy Ferguson (12 and 15), Olivia Mustafa (13), Ronan Barton (16), Monica Yianni (14), Oscar Jopp (13) , Saba Qureshi (15) and David Laszkiewicz (15) – have been crowned environmental champions, following their success in a national video competition run by Eurostar and the Young People’s Trust for the Environment (YPTE).

Each of the winners produced and starred in a short video to enter the "Have your say on sustainability" competition, voicing their views on topics ranging from energy usage and recycling to overpopulation and overfishing of the world’s oceans. As part of their prize, the children travelled by Eurostar to Brussels, to present their views directly to MEPs in the European Parliament.

Each winning entry also took home £250 worth of technology vouchers for their school.

The event, which took place for the second year running, was attended by 10 MEPs including Catherine Bearder, MEP, who hosted the debate:

"For the second year, I was delighted to hear from such talented and inspirational young people. All the MEPs were impressed with their poise, confidence and good ideas and we will certainly try to keep them in mind in our future work."

David Laszkiewicz, winner, said: "I had a fantastic day in Brussels. The MEPs really sat up and took notice of our views and reassured us that action would be taken on the points we raised. What’s more, I got to make great friends and see the inside of the Parliament. I’ll remember this day forever".

Peter Bragg, head of Environment and Energy for Eurostar, said: "We’re very proud to work with YPTE for the second year running, offering young people the opportunity to air their views in front of Europe’s key decision-makers. We were inspired by the topics that the children chose to bring to the debate, as they demonstrated their passion and determination to protect their future and truly drive the green agenda. "

Peter Littlewood, Director, Young People’s Trust for the Environment said: "It is brilliant to be continuing our partnership with Eurostar.  This competition is identifying some of the UK’s most environmentally aware young people and giving them the opportunity to debate the important issues with MEPs whose decisions really can make a difference.  The quality of the presentations and the level of knowledge the winners showed was really impressive."

The competition is part of an ongoing partnership between Eurostar and the YPTE to support free accessible education on the environment. This forms part of Eurostar’s Tread Lightly programme of initiatives, designed to reduce the business’ impact on the environment and encourage consumers – both young and old – to think differently about the way they travel.

Valere Tjolle

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