Deutscher Solarpreis 2023 for Energy School Munich

The Deutscher Solarpreis 2023 goes to the Energy School Munich. Congratulations to the Green City e.V. education team! The aim of the Munich-based environmental organisation's educational project is to inspire children and young people in interactive workshops for the future-relevant topics of climate protection and renewable energies and to promote a more conscious use of resources. The Munich Re Foundation has been supporting the project since 2011.

The Energy School Munich is an illustrative and action-oriented project offering on the topics of climate protection, energy saving, renewable energies and career guidance with a focus on sustainability. It is primarily aimed at primary and secondary schools. Interactive workshops in the schools, exciting excursions and a wide range of working materials complement the timetable. The content of the four modules highlights possible courses of action and empowers children and young people to make their own contribution to a future worth living - every day.

With this award, EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable Energies, and the state association for energy and climate protection Energy4Climate.NRW are honoring Green City's impressive commitment to renewable energies. The Deutscher Solarpreis has been awarded since 1994 to municipalities, associations, organisations and private individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the use of renewable energies. The award recognises exemplary, outstanding projects and initiatives that have the common goal of successfully shaping the energy transition.

Since 2022, the Munich Re Foundation has focused its funding on supporting the three-day "Energy with a future" module, which is aimed specifically at secondary school students. Pupils need to find out about career prospects shortly before they graduate from secondary school. The workshop tries to take this into account and combines career information with climate protection: raising awareness of climate protection and sustainable energy use, encouraging environmentally conscious action, dealing with their own career choices and training opportunities in the field of sustainability - the focus is on the future of young people. Pupils take a close look at how they can become active in climate protection both in their private lives and at school and later in their professional lives.

In 2023, our funding enabled around 80 young people at two Munich secondary schools to take part in the workshops. In addition, two teacher training modules on "Energy with a future" were held. The Green City education team redesigned these multiplier workshops for teachers in 2023 with a practical focus. Various working materials and experiments then enable the simple and practical integration of the training content into the curriculum and everyday school life.

Together with Green City, we are delighted that the Energy School Munich is one of this year's winners of the Deutsche Solarpreis. The award shows once again that it is worth bringing the topics of energy and sustainability into schools and getting children and young people interested in climate protection - this motivates them to continue.

MM, 7 December 2023