International Youth Day is an annual day to highlight the youth, whether it be their qualities, celebrating their voices, or analysing the challenges that they face.
This year, the theme for the United Nations annual day is Intergenerational Society – whereby different ages and generations work together to bring positive change for themselves, their community, and the environment.
More than 70 per cent of children globally consider climate change one of the most pressing issues facing young people today.
Climate change is affecting many areas of children’s lives. More than half a billion are living in high flood occurrence zones, almost 160 million are based in areas of high drought, and 600 million reside in areas with extremely limited water resources. This all adds up to one in four deaths of children under five being attributed to unhealthy environments.
93 per cent of the world’s children under the age of 15 currently breathe polluted air that is detrimental to their health and development. It is estimated that by 2040, approximately two billion children will live in areas with toxic levels of air pollution if things remain the same.
So how is Extreme E supporting this need for change and giving a voice to the youth?
Read below to find out more about how the Championship offers support through various initiatives, alongside advocating for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 4 holds particular prominence as it focusses on ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
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Legacy Programmes
Extreme E’s legacy projects have focused on community and youths in multiple locations. One such project is in Senegal where the Ocean X Prix took place back in 2021 when the team visited schools in the area for the EcoZone project. To read all about how the project went, click here.
In addition, series partner Allianz, sponsored a beach clean with a local orphanage, Empire des Enfants, when Extreme E returned earlier this year to witness the progress.
Another project began during the Arctic X Prix in Greenland. As part of a pioneering project, delivered in partnership with eco-smart technology business myenergi, former XITE ENERGY Racing driver Oli Bennett helped change the lives of students and teachers in Kangerlussuaq.
The school’s diesel generator fell silent on Wednesday August 25 2021 and the following day, Bennett and myenergi were joined by teachers and students as they switched the school to solar.
XITE ENERGY and myenergi installed a 5kW ground-mounted solar array with an accompanying 5.2kWh battery storage system. The myenergi eddi power diverter utilises excess solar energy to heat the school’s water, something which is all controlled through the myenergi home control app.
Lessons are rarely as powerful or pivotal as this one. Along with myenergi’s innovative renewable technologies, this project will enable the school to operate completely off-grid – zero carbon, zero reliance on mains supply, zero utility costs.
Extreme E are educating the next generation through demonstrating sustainability’s importance in the global energy transition, and the Championship are due to be travelling back in the coming weeks to visit the community to see how the school is doing.
Royal College of Art (RCA) Partnership
The 2021/22 Grand Challenge saw teams of students develop and pitch innovative design and science-based solutions in support of the theme – A New Economic Model for the Ocean (NEMO).
Students were challenged to design innovative systems or products that could help change attitudes to the Ocean, and safeguard against increased damage. Issues of focus included environmental sustainability, plastic pollution, loss of marine habitats, and new ocean economies.
The Grand Challenge kicked off with academics from the RCA travelling to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, to witness life on Extreme E’s floating centrepiece, the St. Helena, during its time there for the inaugural Arctic X Prix. The team installed a robotics package and data gathering equipment on the ship, allowing both RCA students and academics to acquire critical data during the ship’s Season 1 journey, which assisted in the formation of student solution proposals.
Professor Ashley Hall, Professor of Design Innovation at the Royal College of Art, said: “Extreme E support our NEMO project by allowing access to the ship for our technology to be installed on board. They also connect us to the Scientific Committee, like Prof Lucy Woodall, so we have amazing access to the world’s top scientists around researching climate change and the world’s oceans. The benefit for the RCA students is that they can see this real time data that we’ve captured as staff researchers, enabling them to incorporate that research directly into their design projects.”
Girls on Track
Since its inaugural season Extreme E has been a huge supporter of Girls on Track – an FIA programme dedicated toinspiring, connecting and showcasing females (aged 8-18) in motorsport as well as through science, technology, and maths (STEM). It’s core objective – to excite and encourage females into recognising that there is a rightful place for them within the motorsport industry.
Extreme E continues to highlight the importance of equality in motorsport. At all of its events, the series has made it their aim to work with partners, invite schools, and work with motorsport clubs, to arrange on-site experiences to help inspire future female participation in the industry.
Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “Girls on Track is such an important initiative and one that perfectly aligns with Extreme E’s equality mission.
“As a series, we welcome and encourage females to join us in all aspects; from engineering to mechanics, design to media – and I think our collaboration with Girls on Track is a great opportunity to open their eyes to the exciting future career possibilities that await them!”
For both the Jurassic X Prix in Dorset and the NEOM Island X Prix in Sardinia, Extreme E introduced school-age girls to life behind the scenes of the ground-breaking Championship and to the numerous careers available to them. The girls were even given the thrilling opportunity to sit inside the cockpit of the colossal ODYSSEY 21, alongside witnessing the women in action the many other women working behind the cameras.
Jenny Tcherniak, Girls on Track UK’s Programme Manager, said: “It’s great for girls to be able to meet so many positive female role models, which is what we want to achieve, but particularly in the driving capacity. You don’t get that in Formula 1, you don’t get it in Formula E but in Extreme E, with the gender equality, it’s absolutely brilliant for the girls to see.
“Alongside, it’s really good for them to see and learn about the environmental issues that Extreme E promotes through its racing and its legacy programmes. If we can get children to appreciate at such a young age what the damage of plastic waste and carbon emissions are doing, then they will naturally adopt habits that will hopefully make a better world for them in the future.”
Student Ambassadors
As the first in motorsport to be a gender equal racing series, Extreme E embarked on a mission to develop the female youth programme even further as part of their commitment to driving opportunities for women in motorsport.
Through the Student Ambassador programme, the sport for purpose series provides female motorsport enthusiasts with the chance to gain hands on, live Championship experiences, which directly support the fields they are studying.
The goal is to increase future female employment opportunities within motorsport and STEM, and the first four female Student Ambassadors were added to the team at the NEOM Island X Prix double-header in Sardinia.
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