At the CDL E-Generation Challenge 2011, 280 youths raced around Singapore - acting, thinking and learning about all things green.
Back for the second year, the national eco-themed “The Amazing Race”-style competition is City Developments Limited (CDL)’s annual green rally which aims to provide youths between the ages of 17 and 25 a fun platform to foster eco-consciousness and to cultivate a group of “E-Generation Agents” who will not only walk the talk but be proactive advocators of the green cause.
The Challenge reinforces CDL’s sustained efforts toward youth development and environmental outreach in Singapore.
“We are encouraged by the overwhelming response for this year’s challenge. With an increasing number of youths participating in environmental initiatives, CDL hopes to foster eco-consciousness amongst them. We also strive to create a group of “eco-advocates” amongst the E-Generation, who are the future owners of the Earth. We wish to empower these ‘Change Agents’ to encourage their friends and families to make informed decisions and drive demand for sustainable and eco-friendly products. It is also through their sphere of influence that will help to grow the number of green consumers and to make Singapore a Sustainable Global City,” said Ms Esther An, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Deputy General Manager (Corporate Affairs), CDL.This year’s theme was on Sustainable Living and centred on the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Through the Challenge, we advocate the importance of the “E” for “Eco” element to encourage the youths to make more sustainable daily choices as they live, work and play.
28 teams were flagged-off at City Square Mall (CSM) from 8.00am and culminated back at CSM as the final pit-stop. The Challenge took the participants to eco-friendly locales including the HortPark, CDL’s 9 & 11 Tampines Grande and Tampines Concourse as well as the Marina Bay City Gallery where they faced various green challenges in the form of tasks, quizzes and activities which focused on six sustainability topics, namely Energy, Water, Shelter (Buildings), Biodiversity, Waste and Food. These issues are the building blocks of a sustainable lifestyle that will contribute towards mitigating the impact of climate change.
To drive home the point of reducing carbon footprint via transportation, all travel was on foot or public transportation. The participants also had the opportunity to try out greener modes of transportation including the Trikke (a human powered 3-wheel carving vehicle that utilises conservation of angular momentum to allow a rider to propel forward), Segway, electric-powered bicycles and river taxi.
Capitalising on spreading the “E” message via the social media platform to capture the interest of the youths, this year’s Challenge included a new Facebook E-Tip Contest where participants could capture photos en-route and upload them along with an eco-tip or learning point to the Facebook group page of the CDL E-Generation Challenge 2011. ).
For samples of the photos and ETips, go to www.facebook.com/CDLEGenerationChallenge.
The Challenge was also supported by event partners which included GoGreen Holdings Private Limited (Segway), Singapore Motor Sports Association, Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore), CDL’s own City Square Mall (CSM) as well as My 3 Wheels (Trikke), which is taking part for the first time in the challenge. The event is also supported by the National Environment Agency, in support of Clean and Green Singapore and the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement.
This year, the champion green team walked away with $2,000 while the 1st runner-up team and 2nd runner-up team won $1,500 and $1,000 respectively. Please see Annex 2 for the winning teams. In addition to attractive team prizes, participants representing their schools / institutions also contributed towards their school / institution’s chance to win the Institution Challenge prize of $1,000 cash which was awarded to Singapore Polytechnic this year.
For more details about the CDL E-Generation Challenge, go to www.cdl.com.sg/egeneration2011.
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