The results of the 14th national contest on power management among Belarusian students, Energy Marathon, in seven nominations will be summarized online in Borisov on 31 March, head of the legal work, personnel policy and communications of the Department of Energy Efficiency of the State Committee for Standardization Vitaly Kretsky told the media on 30 March, BelTA has learned.

The participants of the final stage of the competition are students and teachers of the Belarusian educational institutions, winners of the regional and Minsk city selections. According to Vitaly Kretsky, getting into the national final is already a victory. For example, First Deputy Head of the Main Department of Education of Minsk Oblast Executive Committee Sofia Filistovich said that about 200 works had been submitted to the regional stage of the competition, and the best ones reached the final.

The contestants submitted their works with practical proposals for the efficient and rational use of energy resources both in educational institutions and at home; projects, commercials, posters, drawings, leaflets, videos and scenarios of events, as well as examples of the organization of the educational process on the relevant topic in educational institutions. In total, the competition is held in four categories. The organizers also developed a way for children to participate in the competition - the nomination “Cultural and entertainment event to promote efficient and rational use of energy resources”.

Vitaly Kretsky listed some especially noteworthy ideas suggested this year. Among them is a self-acting energy-independent water pump Water Heart; room lighting with a door opening generator; a computer model for controlling the mode of operation of traffic lights in Polotsk, and others.

“The Water Heart project is simple, with no engines, fuel and lubricants, only the weight of the water itself. The project has already been implemented in the educational institution. The students have made a working model, which is now in operation. Such a pump can be used in areas where it is difficult to provide electricity services, for example,” said Vitaly Kretsky.

Students of the Polesie college suggested converting the mechanical energy from closing the door into electrical energy. They hung a small battery over the doors to the workshops, to which they hooked an LED light bulb. Polotsk innovators have proposed a fairly unique project, which was difficult even to fit into the framework of any nomination. It is however noteworthy: the project developers counted the morning traffic in the city and proposed changes in traffic lights at several intersections. Thanks to the project, the traffic flow through the streets of Polotsk can become more smooth and the car fuel economy can reach 25%.

The works of the participants will be demonstrated as part of the online broadcast during the final of the competition on 31 March. Winners of the previous years will make speeches as well.

The mission of the Energy Marathon is to instill in children an understanding of the importance of energy saving, energy efficiency and the use of clean energy sources, to form a new consciousness and new habits of careful attitude toward the environment, and to teach how to use the country's energy resources competently. More than 3,500 students from more than 500 educational institutions participate in the contest every year.

“The competition is held for the 14th time. The idea started in 2004 with a small regional event in Vitebsk. Children were invited to reflect in their drawings and creative works how they see the ways of more efficient use of energy resources. Later, the idea was adopted by other educational institutions. In 2007 the competition became nationwide,” the representative of the department said.

Besides the Energy Marathon young Belarusian innovators also take part in similar events in other countries. For the last three years a group of Belarusian children traveled to the Black Sea, where they participated in the All-Russian Festival Together Brighter to showcase their ideas and achievements of Belarus in the field of energy saving. There is an idea to organize a festival for all EAEU countries in Belarus. After all, it was the first country in the former Soviet Union to hold such a competition. The idea is to unite all interested young people to share their experiences. Due to a complicated epidemiological situation the idea had to be postponed probably for the next year. It is planned that about 10-15 children from different countries will come to Belarus for about three weeks - this time will be also filled with cognitive and entertaining activities, excursions around Belarus.

The event will be organized by the Department of Energy Efficiency of the State Committee for Standardization, the Main Department of Education of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, the Minsk Oblast Department for Supervision of Rational Use of Fuel and Energy Resources, the Borisov State College and the Minsk Oblast Institute for Education Development.

Written by: belta.by