PSVE students during a recent workshop.
PHILIPSBURG–In the coming weeks, close to 100 secondary school students will participate in anti-looting and anti-littering workshops organised as part of the “Too Cool to Loot” Campaign. Waste Factory, a foundation that focuses on recycling and repurposing waste-materials, will be leading the workshops themed: Too COOL to Loot and Litter.
In response to the numerous incidents of looting that took place after Hurricane Irma in September 2017, UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport launched its Too COOL to Loot campaign early 2018. The Too COOL to Loot and Litter team has been hosting a variety of activities such as educational presentations and debates to bring awareness about the negative effects of looting.
“Initially, our Too COOL to Loot messages were primarily geared toward primary school students with a focus on the societal impact of looting and the importance of better hurricane preparedness. With this activity we wanted to engage secondary school students and therefore we decided to expand the message to also include the environmental impact of looting,” explained UNICEF community mobiliser Suzette Moses-Burton.
The first workshop kicked off with St. Maarten Academy PSVE students. The four-hour workshop started with an anti-looting presentation from the team, followed by an introduction by Waste Factory director Tess Verheij, who spoke in depth about the 5 Rs – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle – and the foundation’s many upcycling activities.
To conclude the presentations, organisers also briefly touched on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with emphasis on responsible production and consumption, decent work and economic growth and climate action (SDGs 8, 12 and 13).
“I experienced the terrible looting after Hurricane Irma first-hand. I am happy to team up with Too COOL to Loot to spread their anti-looting message, as well as incorporate my own goal of bringing awareness about reusing waste-materials and the negative effects of littering,” said Verheij about the project.
Once the theory segment was completed, it was time to get creative. Students were asked to brainstorm about an activity and design a T-Shirt according to the theme Too COOL to Loot and Litter. The best activities and connected designs per school will be chosen for screen-printing at Waste Factory.
“I want people to realise that change starts with themselves,” one student shared about his designs that featured a large pointed finger; encouraging persons to think twice about looting and littering.
Seven secondary schools are participating in the workshops, which span three weeks. “We invited every secondary school to register two students each from their non-exam forms/grades to attend the workshops,” said Moses-Burton. The participating students were asked to take careful notes, as they are expected to present everything they learned to their classmates.
To conclude the workshops, a mural utilising the designs from each participating school will be created to remind those passing by that everyone should be Too COOL to Loot and Litter.
For more information regarding the Too COOL to Loot and Litter campaign and UNICEF’s other activities, visit
facebook.com/toocooltoloot or
facebook.com/unicefsxm.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/87641-schools-to-participate-in-two-workshops
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