50,000 Children SPARE

The project’s name, SPARE, is an abbreviation of “School Project for Application of Resources and Energy”.
SPARE is a highly successful energy-education project. More than 7000 schools are involved to energy education, and practical actions from 16 countries. The purpose of SPARE is to fight climate change and to stabilize CO2 emissions by reducing the total energy consumption. The children bring awareness to their families.

- In 2007, more than 600 students and teachers from 13 countries took part in the All-Russian and an International school competition.
- In 2007, more than 7000 schools were involved to energy education, and practical actions from 16 countries.
- In 2007-08, the full material was translated from Russian to English, and the new round of the Competition is running in 2 languages in Russian and in English.
- In 2007, INFORSE-Europe member organisations prepared to launch SPARE in Romania (Earth Friends) and Portugal (Almargem).

Each year there is a deadline for the Competitions.
- The deadline for the National Competition 2007-08: February 15, 2008
- The deadline for the International Competition 2007-08: March 15, 2008

Overall Coordination:
- Friends of the Baltic, Russia
- Friends of the Earth, Norway

National Coordinators:
Armenia: Eco-club "Tapan"
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan Youth Movement (AYU)
Belarus: Fund for Realization of Ideas
Georgia: EcoVision, (Ecovzgljad)
Kazakhstan: EcoObraz
Kyrgyzstan: "BIOM"
Macedonia: Proaktiva
Moldova: Gutta club
Poland: The European Association of Ecologists (GAP)
Portugal: Almargem
Romania: Earth Friends
Russia: Friends of the Baltic
Tajikistan: "For the Earth!"
Turkmenistan: Dashoguz Ecological Guardians
Ukraine: Ecological club "Eremurus", Kiev
Uzbekistan: ADEK

INFORSE members prepared the way for SPARE in 2 new countries in 2007:
Romania by Earth Friends:
PP worked to introduce the SPARE in Romania. The activities focused on:
- Adapting a major part of the Moldovan version to Romanian language,
- Testing the program in 5 selected schools for 200 pupils,
- Assessing the results in a report,
- Publishing articles for a Romanian magazine and press.
It was concluded that further adapting is needed to make the material more incompatible to the requirements of the Romanian Educational Ministry.
More information: att. Ion Constantine Zamfir, earthfriends@witdata.ro

Portugal by Alamargem:
Almagrem worked on to introduce SPARE in Portugal. The activities focused on:
- Translating general information on SPARE, and INFORSE to Portuguese
- Developing web page where this material is available.
- Promoting SPARE and INFORSE on a large exhibition on Clean Technologies and Sustainable Mobility in Portugal, where Almagrem organised educational activities with solar toys, ovens and windmills.
- Contacting schools in the Algavre region t participate in the SPARE program
- Selecting 5 interested schools
- Assessing the SPARE material. It was concluded that the material needed to be not only translated, but also adapted to the Portugal school needs.
More information: att. Cecile Godinho, cgodinho@almargem.org
See also: SPARE on Almargem 's web site in Portuguese

The SPARE Story:
The European school project (SPARE) to changing behaviour was launched from Norway to Eastern Europe. In the period of 1996-99, more than 2,000 classes and 50,000 school children from 10 European counties were participating every year in the SPARE project.
In the first year, the project was partly funded by the European Union’s SAVE program. Finland and Scotland were the first EU countries to join. Eastern Europe was very well represented, with participating schools from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The financing of the project in the Central Eastern European countries stopped in 2000, but some schools continued to run similar program built on the success.

- In 2003, the SPARE material was updated in Russian and was launched in Russia and in the previous CIS countries. The material has been translated to the languages of the previous CIS countries.

- In March, 2006, there was a workshop organised together with INFORSE-Europe in St. Petersburg, Russia. See at Seminar.

- In 2005-06, there was a successful SPARE Competition of School Energy Projects

- In 2006-07, a new Round was launch for Competition of School Energy Projects.

In 2007, a new initiative was agreed in the Annual Meeting in Moldova. SPARE started up practical projects, and announced a slogan: "We can contribute to reduction of CO2 emissions”.

- In 2007-08, the full material is under translation from Russian to English, and the new round of the Competition is running in 2 languages in Russian and in English.

In 2007, INFORSE member organisations prepared to launch SPARE in Romania and Portugal.

SPARE in Norway, and Europe:
The web site www.naturvern.no/spare/
Description in Norwegian and English.
Brochure can be downloaded in English/Russian.

SPARE (Russia and the previous CIS countries):
The web site www.spareworld.org include links to the national SPARE web sites in the previous CIS countries.

Activities of SPARE in English at SPAREWORLD.
The SPARE 60-page Textbook translated to English at the SPARE website BOOK (5.5MB pdf file) , (Published 2007-08).
In addition to this textbook, various materials have been developed: study plans, methodological guidance for teachers, leadership instructions for NGOs for distributing SPARE, suggestions for including practical low-cost measures of energy-savings, methodological and informational video films, and multimedia CDs and DVDs.

Articles/presentations in English in Sustainable Energy News:
SPARE in Period 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2006-07:
Article on practical actions and school Competition in 2007:
- Sustainable Energy News December 2007 on page 8. (330kB pdf file).
- Presentation of SPARE, October 11, 2007, EfE Conference, handout (pdf 908 kB), slides (pdf 4.2 MB)
Article on the Workshop and Competitions:
- Sustainable Energy News issue #54, September 2006 on page 6 (pdf file 117kB)
Article on the Competitions:
- Sustainable Energy News issue #53, June 2006 on page 6.(pdf file 256 kB)
- Workshop organised together with INFORSE-Europe in St. Petersburg, Russia. March 2006. See at Seminar 06.

SPARE in Period 1996-1999:
- Sustainable Energy News issue #29, 2000. (pdf file 101kB)