​The second edition of the BANDA ASAP contest, organized by ASAP Romania and Animest, has announced the winners! Students and high school students from the counties of Bucharest, Ilfov and Constanta had 2 months to create works on the topic of recycling, with which they could present their own, creative vision of how we can save the planet from plastic. The enthusiasm for participation and expression of one’s ideas can be seen in the record number of 750 works submitted to the competition.

Based on the topic “2040. In Romania, plastic is still thrown into the trash. The hero/heroine decides to take the fate of plastic into his own hands.” students showed with the help of different drawing styles how they see the preservation of the planet. If some chose fantastic heroes such as “3 Musketeers of Recycling”, “Ninjaboy and Invasion of the Trash”, “Ekomen and the Robot Cleaners”, “Plastic Fairy”, others believe that they themselves, the students, will save us, animals or even music. However, there are also works through which students show the power of “Together”, the change in the hands of the inhabitants of this planet: “You are the hero”, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”, “The Recicescu Family-Eroi salvatori”.

The jury, which included experts in the field of comics and illustration – Maria Surdukan, Nini Tuan and Ligia Soare – was impressed by the expressiveness of the students and the passion with which they want things to change in the future: “The large number of comics submitted to the competition brought a variety of ideas, drawing styles, graphically expressed stories, as well as solutions that participants found for the plastic problem. After this judgment, I am left with two ideas that strengthen my faith in the younger generation: on the one hand, the power of example through which whole communities are involved, and on the other hand, the power of a group working towards a common goal.

I am convinced that these comics have the power to motivate and teach a lesson in engagement in addition to the joy of seeing beautiful artwork created by talented children.”statedLygia Soare, co-founder and co-organizer of Animest.

407 middle and high school students from the capital and Ilfov county and 246 from Konstanz county submitted one or more works to the second edition of the BANDA ASAP competition.

Here is the list of winners:

Bucharest

• “Julia Gasdeu” National College / Banda ASAP award for student Riana-Teodora Rotaru, 15 years old, work “We can’t go on like this” / prof. Mariana Lily Badea;
• “Elena Văcărescu” High School / Banda ASAP Award for student Teodor Cite Stefanescu, 12 years old, work “Choices can change the world” / Prof. Celestine-Septimius Solon;

Ilfov

• Theoretical secondary school “Ioan Petrush” Otopeni, Yud. Ilfov / Banda ASAP Award for student Sebastian Florentin Ion, 17 years old, work “Take the initiative” / prof. Alisa Giorchila;

• Secondary school No. 1 Ciorogârla / ASAP Ribbon Prize for student Mirela Cristea, 13 years old, work “Eco-Bot” / prof. Denisa Olena Grinday;

Constant

• Theoretical secondary school “Trayan” / Banda ASAP prize for student Eva Pavlik, 14 years old, work “Art from recycled plastic” / Prof. Gabriela-Violeta Tenesescu;

• Secondary school No. 24,,Ion Jalea” / Banda ASAP Award for student Yulia Maria Pintilier, 12 years old, work “Angela, plastic heroine” / prof. Mary the Second;
• “Emil Racovită” Theoretical High School Techirghiol, Jud. Constanta / Banda ASAP Prize For student Alexandru Ovidiu Bulfa, 18 years old, work “Estrella saves the Earth (Plastic is fashionable)” / prof. Anamaria Florescu;
• Secondary school No. 3, Kosludzha, Konstanz county / Banda ASAP award for student Konstantin Moldovyanu, 13 years old, work “The Earth must be saved from plastic” / Prof. Ioana Alexandra Konstantin.

The second edition of the BANDA ASAP competition brought even more prizes to all participants than the previous edition. Thus, 8 interactive whiteboards will be awarded to the schools and middle schools announced as winners, a hoverboard for each of the 8 young enthusiasts mentioned above, and an online career guidance course offered to each teacher who registered and referred the winning students in the competition.

“We did not expect this kind of feedback from students about participating in the second edition of BANDA ASAP. We started with less momentum in April when we organized a competition for students from Brasov and Iasi, but now it seems they managed to catch us by surprise and we are happy. A lot of creative ideas, a lot of colors, a lot of meaning, it is clear that we have a generation that is catching up with the solution, so we can keep our optimism about more responsible behavior, more attentive to what is around. At least, that’s what I want to think, because that’s exactly what these students tell me. We congratulate them, but also the teachers. Thank you to everyone for participating, and to the winners, enjoy your prizes!”– said Michaela Tutunaru, coordinator of the ASAP program.

“I loved this contest! When I was little, my grandparents would read me Garfield books, and as I got older, the comics became more and more appealing, especially after my brother showed me the manga books. I take the topic of ecology very seriously. I believe that global warming is one of the most pressing problems of modern society, and we must act as soon as possible so that the situation does not get worse.” remembered Eva Pavlika, the winning student,Trajan Theoretical Secondary School, Constanta.

“I’m interested in everything related to ecology, that’s why I made this comic. Since I am among the winners, I believe it is time to use my talent and passion for art for the good of the environment, wanting to attract the attention of other people, as it attracted me.” said Alexandru Bulf, the winning student of “Emil Racoviță” Theoretical High School, Techirghiol.

BANDA ASAP is a competition through which ASAP Romania and Animest aim to raise the level of information and awareness of students about separate collection and recycling of waste, make them responsible by actively involving them in positive competition and develop their environmental spirit.

All information about the ASAP program is available on the official ASAP Romania website and social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

***

Media partners: Embassy of Sustainability in Romania, Hotnews, Rock FM.

***

About ASAP Romania

ASAP (Army of Smart Plastic Selection) is a social responsibility program launched by The Institute Foundation that aims to change teenagers’ behavior towards plastic, from use to separate collection and recycling. The goal of ASAP is to actively contribute to the promotion of environmental education among the target audience and to create the largest single infrastructure for the separate collection of waste for recycling in all schools in Romania. Currently, the program is active in more than 1,600 schools in 36 cities and municipalities in Romania, and information on separate collection and recycling covers more than half a million pre-university students.

ASAP is a program supported by Lidl Romania that contributes to the goals of the REset Plastic strategy of the Schwarz group, of which the retailer is a part. The REset Plastic strategy includes five areas of action – from avoiding the use of plastic in packaging and rethinking its design, to recycling and greening, to innovation and education in this field.

Article supported by ASAP Romania