Qualicum Beach HS Student essay wins her a trip to Copenhagen
Posted by Craig Clarke
The Danish Rotary District 1470 created a world wide essay competition "My Life and My World in 2050" for
skilled and creative young people ages 16 to 22 years. The contest was to lead to the World Conference on Climate
held in December 2009 in Copenhagen. The first prize was 8000 Euro dollars and a trip to Copenhagen for
the Conference.
Madeleine Dwyer, a student at Kwalicum Secondary School in Qualicum Beach won the first prize. Madeleine gave her presentation of her vision of the future at the United Nations World Conference on Climate Change. The jury consisted of representatives of the business and academic world and the contest was sponsored by Boeing. This was a return trip for Madeleine after her stint as a Rotary exchange student to Denmark in 2008/2009.
Madeleine Dwyer, a student at Kwalicum Secondary School in Qualicum Beach won the first prize. Madeleine gave her presentation of her vision of the future at the United Nations World Conference on Climate Change. The jury consisted of representatives of the business and academic world and the contest was sponsored by Boeing. This was a return trip for Madeleine after her stint as a Rotary exchange student to Denmark in 2008/2009.
District Governor Peter Staermose said before the ceremony that in the run-up to the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Copenhagen Rotarians wanted to make a gesture to leave what he called "a fingerprint" on the event. So the members launched an essay competition for young people in every corner of the world, calling for contestants to write about My Life and My World in 2050.
The challenge was to create more than a science fiction, Staermose said. Rotarians received more than 100 entries from 30 countries around the world. All left Staermose with a sense of confidence that we will be passing the world into the hands of a generation that is thoughtful, passionate, courageous and determined to do the right thing.
Dwyer's presentation leaned heavily toward the positive, without being naive. She noted, for example, she was "amazed by how much the world was being affected by human activity, by how nature is being degraded by humanity." But she also took heart when she learned the sun delivers the same amount of energy shining on earth in a single hour that humans use in an entire year.
Her world in 2050 would have cleaner water, fewer people, better public transit, smaller-scale agriculture, smaller, cleaner cars and airplanes that didn't spew hundreds of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air. (That latter point served a particular challenge, which Dwyer directed to a representative of Boeing, the sponsor of her handsome award.)
None of the above is going to come easily, Dwyer admitted. The people of the world will have to accept serious changes to their style and manner of living. They will have to demand action of their leaders. But they are honour bound to do so if they hope to give Madeleine Dwyer's generation a chance to live in a sustainable world.
Her essay is available in the download area of our web site.
The challenge was to create more than a science fiction, Staermose said. Rotarians received more than 100 entries from 30 countries around the world. All left Staermose with a sense of confidence that we will be passing the world into the hands of a generation that is thoughtful, passionate, courageous and determined to do the right thing.
Dwyer's presentation leaned heavily toward the positive, without being naive. She noted, for example, she was "amazed by how much the world was being affected by human activity, by how nature is being degraded by humanity." But she also took heart when she learned the sun delivers the same amount of energy shining on earth in a single hour that humans use in an entire year.
Her world in 2050 would have cleaner water, fewer people, better public transit, smaller-scale agriculture, smaller, cleaner cars and airplanes that didn't spew hundreds of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air. (That latter point served a particular challenge, which Dwyer directed to a representative of Boeing, the sponsor of her handsome award.)
None of the above is going to come easily, Dwyer admitted. The people of the world will have to accept serious changes to their style and manner of living. They will have to demand action of their leaders. But they are honour bound to do so if they hope to give Madeleine Dwyer's generation a chance to live in a sustainable world.
Her essay is available in the download area of our web site.
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