The winners of the competition that challenged teachers and secondary school students from all over the country to artistically explore the garbage that the Ocean leaves on the beach are already known. An initiative of the Faculty of Biotechnology at the Universidade Católica that took shape in the hands of 17 groups of students from across the country. The winners are three groups from different educational institutions: Escola Básica e Secundária Mouzinho da Silveira (Corvo Island), Colégio Valsassina (Lisbon), and Externato de Santa Clara (Porto).
“As a Faculty of Biotechnology that produces knowledge in the areas of sustainability and the circular economy, we have an added concern when we see that there is still a lot to do to preserve the Oceans,” says Ana Maria Gomes, professor and deputy director of the Faculty of Biotechnology from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. “On National Sea Day, we launched a challenge to secondary school students to collect and work with the rubbish that washed up on the beaches and the results were extraordinary,” she adds.
The competition involved collecting waste carried by water and transforming these resources into a broad artistic manifesto (students opted mainly for sculptural assembly). Among the winning groups are the Corvimar Group, from the Mouzinho da Silveira Basic and Secondary School (Corvo Island), with the work “Caravela-Portuguesa; the group Os Pegadas”, from Colégio Valsassina (Lisbon), with the work “Stop Now!” and the AquaArt Group, from Externato (Santa Clara do Porto), with the work “Arte e Alma”. Honorable mentions were awarded to Grupo Lix(a)rte, from Escola Secundária Dr. Serafim Leite (S. João da Madeira) with the work “O gémeo de WALL-E”; to the BrigadaECO group, from Externato de Santa Clara (Porto), with the work “Um 'Bonfim' para o Lixo” and to the group O Outro Lado do Plástico, from Externato de São José (Lisbon), with the work “Save the Sea ”.
This contest made it possible to combine artistic creativity with scientific knowledge and foster cooperation and connection to the real world. It also contributes to raising ocean literacy and, at the same time, empowering youth in the face of problems that tend to be seen as overwhelming. The contest “In Defense of the Oceans” was launched on the day that the National Day of the Sea is celebrated, the 16th of November and in total there were 17 groups that participated in the contest, opting mainly for the sculptural assembly. In the end, 3 winning groups were chosen that will receive €150 to be distributed among the various members of the group and 3 honorable mentions worth €50 each will be awarded. The initiative was carried out within the scope of the BLUE DESIGN ALLIANCE project, financed by the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for 2021-2026.
Winners:
- Grupo Corvimar, Escola Básica e Secundária Mouzinho da Silveira (Ilha do Corvo), with the work “Caravela-portuguesa (Physalia physalis)”
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/TwoRLlhijtA
- Grupo Os Pegadas, Colégio Valsassina (Lisboa), with the work “Stop Now!”
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/Iq12_Pd-uPE - Grupo AquaArt, Externato de Santa Clara (Porto), with the work “Arte e Alma”
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/TLUDXIYk24o
Honorable mentions:
- Grupo Lix(a)rte, da Escola Secundária Dr. Serafim Leite (S. João da Madeira) with the work «O gémeo de WALL-E»
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/pxkdoZYuySo - Grupo BrigadaECO, do Externato de Santa Clara (Porto), with the work «Um "Bonfim" para o Lixo»
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/qNgNn9OV6-M - Grupo O Outro Lado do Plástico, do Externato de São José (Lisboa) with the work «Save the Sea»
Vídeo em https://youtu.be/4XtGyXBYS9o
More information at https://esb.ucp.pt/pt-pt/sobre/comunidade/em-defesa-dos-oceanos
