School Service Project
According to EVN, CSR is a voluntary contribution towards sustainable development. They see sustainable development as a long and continued process. As a responsible company in the energy field, they face economic, environmental and social challenges in balancing the needs of different target groups.
One of the strategic approaches of EVN Macedonia is environmental protection because it is in line with their policy. In cooperation with Konekt, the School Service Project was designed and launched in 2007/2008. With this project, EVN communicates with the youngest representatives of our society educating them in the reasonable and cautious use of electrical energy. In that way, EVN Macedonia contributes to the building of the next generation of consumers that take care of the environment and proper usage of resources. For us, this project is of great importance because it shows that by combining the resources and aims of the company, as well as the importance and connection with the civil society sector, significant positive influence can be made in the society.
Konekt is the implementer of the project and we coordinate the cooperation between EVN and 4 other CSO’s. The Centre for Energy Efficiency (MACEF)- Skopje , Youth Council of Ohrid ,Harvest of Knowledge from Prilep and Planetum from Strumica with their trained teams of educators interactively disseminate the knowledge to the students age 9 and 10 in every primary school in Macedonia. The materials and the classes are in both Macedonian and Albanian language.
Students learn about the sources and types of energy use in their homes and how to use them in a safe and responsible manner. They become aware of the risks of electricity and know how to deal with them. They understand the imperative of saving and know how to do it. All these pupils gain knowledge in a creative and interactive way, and because of that they build long-lasting values and are converted into real small guardians of their households.
The project each year involves new content that often arises from the demands of the students. Besides the specially-made posters that remain in the classroom to be used, from the second year of implementation a prize quiz is arranged at the end of each semester. There is also a competition of art and literature.
The project includes the children with disabilities as well through the cooperation with the Association Open the Windows. They scan the art and literature crafts for the project’s website. In this way the use of available information technologies is promoted in practice. Furthermore, children with disabilities are enabled to be active citizens earning modest incomes with the help of their newly gained skills.
In the past four years of implementation of the project 287 schools were visited in all municipalities in Macedonia, 1.530 workshops were delivered that covered 34.588 students. The company also created a special web page, where the students can approach the information and photos from the project. The project won the National award for CSR in 2008 in the category “Community Giving” for big companies. For more information see this link.
“That way, EVN Macedonia invests in building future generations of consumers who care about the environment and the use of resources“
