Cezeri Green Technology High School Reaches World Finals
· Anadolu Ajansı
Cezeri Green Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, operating in Ankara, has entered the top 10 schools globally in the 'Environmental Action' category at a global education competition with its sustainability-focused innovative projects.
Global Green Achievement
Turkey experienced great pride in the "World's Best School Prizes" organization, held annually since 2022 to highlight successful educational institutions worldwide. Cezeri Green Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, established in 2017 in Ankara as the country's first thematic renewable energy high school, managed to rank among the top 10 schools globally with its sustainability-focused projects. According to T4 Education data, the Turkish representative, standing out among thousands of global applications in evaluations conducted across 5 different categories, advanced to the finals in the 'Environmental Action' category.
Energy Detectives and Social Awareness
The Energy Detectives Project, developed by the school to spread environmental awareness at the grassroots level, was among the most significant initiatives that captured the jury's attention. School Principal İlker Erkmen made the following statements regarding the scope of the project:
"With our Energy Detectives Project, which we implement for middle school students, we select energy detectives from middle schools in our vicinity. Through our energy club in those schools, our students provide training on environmental awareness, carbon footprint, and zero waste. As a result of these trainings, the energy detectives we select monitor their schools' energy and water consumption, and we reward the schools that achieve a significant reduction by the end of the year. In this sense, this awareness-raising effort is one of the most beautiful projects we undertake for the benefit of society."
Disaster Solutions and Innovative Projects
School Principal İlker Erkmen stated that the school does not only provide theoretical education but also conducts energy transformation information sessions for citizens, and described the technologies they developed for crisis situations with the following words:
"We hold training sessions for citizens on how to carry out energy transformations in surrounding buildings. We have outreach activities. During earthquakes, due to the high electricity demand of tent cities, we have a disaster bank, an energy bank, which we designed and produced. We applied to the competition with these and reached the finals."
Turkish Representation on the International Stage
School Principal İlker Erkmen stated that the institution's thematic structure aligns perfectly with the competition's objectives and described the success process with the following remarks:
"We applied in the 'Environmental Action' category. Because we are a renewable energy school, a thematic school. All the activities we carry out in this school are actually very suitable for this category. In this regard, we brought together all the work we have done and submitted our application. They listened to the details of our work. As a result, the jury made a decision. We were among the 10 schools that reached the finals. We are the only school from our country in the 'Environmental Action' category."
Aiming for the Top with Public Vote
School Principal İlker Erkmen noted that in addition to the jury's evaluation, global public support is also a determining factor in the award process and touched upon the voting process:
"Besides this, there is a public vote. The winner will be selected based on the results of the public vote. The voting is ongoing online."
Stating that the voting will continue until the end of October, School Principal İlker Erkmen made the following call to the entire community:
"Our school also has an internationalization culture. The international visibility of our work is very high. Winning the competition will make very important contributions in this regard. It will significantly contribute to the promotion of educational initiatives in our country. Therefore, this is an important competition for us. It is truly very important for our school to be represented here. I invite everyone to vote for our school in the public vote."