Education

Sunday May 11, 2008

Let’s get going ...

YOUR quest to reach Sleeping Beauty's majestic castle in Hong Kong Disneyland may now become a reality with The Star and Pizza Hut all geared up to send, not two but four, teams to the land of magical fantasy.

YOUR quest to reach Sleeping Beauty's majestic castle in Hong Kong Disneyland may soon become a reality, what with The Star and Pizza Hut all geared up to send, not two but four, teams to the land of magical fantasy.

The task of getting your teams formed and registered has, by now, been completed. Well done!

Judging from the fancy names that have appeared in the registration forms received so far – Voice of Environment, Environmental Freaks, just to name two – your team now has an identity of its own.

So, what's the next step? Read on for tips on what you should do next to pursue your goal.

Brainstorm for ideas

Come up with a campaign to promote environmental awareness among your classmates, schoolmates or community. There are specific areas you can touch on, such as the natural environment we live in, anti-pollution measures, technology, flora, fauna, etc.

If you choose to highlight anti-pollution measures, for example, you may want to come up with a campaign against the use of plastic bags or styrofoam packs. As part of your campaign, you may choose to focus on how consumer vigilance and reduced packaging can help to protect the environment.

Whatever the topic, remember to link it to our theme, Going Green: Making a Positive Impact on our Environment.

Here's the tricky bit – come up with concrete suggestions. For instance, don't draw posters of polluted rivers and drains, or of planet earth crying, because we know quite well that our actions are sometimes not kind to Mother Nature. Show, instead, what you can do to prevent our rivers from being polluted and contaminated.

Conduct research

Read up on some “Going Green” activities and research what these activities advocate. Select an article about such an activity. Cut and paste the article(s) on the Research Record of the template. Information may be taken from the Internet or magazines as long as they relate to the theme. Remember that at least one article on your Research Record page must be taken from The Star or The StarOnline.

The campaign portfolio

This portfolio is on Page IV of your template.

The Summary segment requires an explanation about your campaign and why you think it will make a positive impact on the environment.

Participants at primary school level need to complete the summary in about 100 words whilst those at secondary school level have to submit their summary in about 250 words.

Remember that grammar and spelling will be taken into account if there is a tie in the merit or grand prize awards.

Objectives and Strategies in this segment of the portfolio need only be written in point form. An example is provided in Table 1 below.

Work out the costs

During the C4R workshops, many of you asked, “Where do we get the income to begin with?”

Think of some simple activities that can help your team come up with funds – sponsorship from the Parents-Teachers Association, donation from parents, using the class fund, having a jumble sale, etc.

If your campaign is about recycling, you might choose to organise a contest to see who can collect the most old newspapers, magazines or aluminium cans. However, if you do this, remember that the winners must be rewarded – this adds to costs incurred.

If you decide to place bins in the school compound to collect items to be recycled, additional costs will be incurred again. Check if you can get the bins free or get someone to sponsor them. Refer to the budget estimate on the left.

Design your poster

Once you've completed the portfolio, back up your campaign with an eye-catching poster. Daniel Comar, the executive creative director of Ogilvy and Mather and a judge of our C4R contest, has provided useful tips on how to sell your idea. Watch the two-part presentation on The StarOnline.

Remember, you can win the grand prize of trips to Hong Kong Disneyland, Singapore and Genting with one top-notch, quality poster.

So, let's see you pit your wits and creativity against each other to come up with the best campaign possible.

However, don't forget that while it is good to be competitive, it is just as important to enjoy good camaraderie and esprit de corps when working on the campaign.

The pizzas will taste a lot better if we know we have earned them through hard work and had fun as well.

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