The winners of the 8th Panhellenic Generation Next Competition propose solutions for the common good with an eye on Europe

And yet, this proposal was submitted by a student group from the 1st High School of Leros who, with the guidance of their teacher, utilized the freely accessible STEM tools of the digital platform www.generationnext.vodafone.gr, within the framework of the 8th Panhellenic Generation Next Competition, and realized their vision for an upgraded everyday life for people with visual impairments.

Angelos-Euftychios, Georgios-Iakovos, Eleni-Iliana and Stefanos won the first prize in the Competition and are now preparing to travel to Bucharest where they will stand among the winning teams from Germany, Albania, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Turkey, who also participated in the Skills Upload Jr initiative, to which Generation Next belongs, and will present their innovative proposals. An experience that, in the first years of their young lives, will fill their hearts with pride, giving them the confirmation and motivation to claim, systematically and in a broader European dimension, the common good.

The members of the second winning team, ROBOSEK, will receive a gift of an advanced technology Drone as well as a moral reward for a proposal that makes us optimistic about our crowded and energy-intensive cities. The ROBOSEK team from the 3rd Primary School of Eastern Attica (Rafina), consisting of Dimitris, Vasilis and Vasilis, and their teacher, organized a system for storing excess energy from renewable sources by utilizing pumped storage through elevation differences and water. Together, they imagined a mechanism that would enhance the sustainability of cities and built it. Sustainable cities, STEM solutions and innovation were the pillars of this ingenious idea that is fully coordinated with the vision of the Generation Next program for a better future with the power of technology and the appetite of the new generation.

A better future, however, cannot be realized without the necessary ecological awareness. The third winning team of the 8th Panhellenic Generation Next Competition, LIFOR, knows that improving the life of our planet concerns both local and European and global levels. With the help of their teacher, Orpheus, Pavlos and Anastasios from the Little Hackers Group of the Experimental Elementary School of Florina, created an interactive application with a Virtual Reality (VR) environment that provides information about the brown bear. Their proposal has an educational purpose and strengthens interest in the environment through learning. The team members will receive as a prize an Action camera, with which they will be able to create impressive content from their experiences in nature, in the city and from anywhere else.

The Vodafone Foundation equips the new generation with the right technology tools to create a better future and see their ideas become reality. Through the Generation Next digital platform, students can find useful information and educational materials to build the society of tomorrow they dream of.

About the Generation Next program
Generation Next is a Digital Skills Development Program of the Vodafone Foundation and part of the European initiative SkillsUploadJr that offers free access to STEM education and new technologies to students and teachers from anywhere in Greece. To date, the Program, centered on the digital platform www.generationnext.vodafone.gr, counts more than 135,600 beneficiaries and 962 innovative student projects. Through Generation Next, students and teachers have the opportunity to learn about new technologies, experiment with digital tools, be inspired and create innovative ideas for the common good, thus creating a better tomorrow for all.