The Flick the Switch Workshop

The Flick the Switch workshop was held on Thursday, 23 September 2010 at the Five Lakes Hotel in Maldon, England. Guests came from across Europe to attend, including the project partners, representatives from local organisations, students and teachers from local primary and secondary schools and even Flick the Switch himself! 

A European marketplace was prepared by the project partners for the workshop attendees. The marketplace displayed typical foods of the different countries involved in the project, including Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, Estonia, Italy, Malta and the UK. Attendees could also see Flick the Switch material in different languages and some creative student contributions to the campaign, such as posters and board games. The winning posters from the Flick the Switch competition were exhibited around the room and were of great interest to all attendees. 

The big surprise of the morning was the appearance of Flick the Switch, who entertained all the students (and the adults too!). He encouraged the students present to take part in the competitions and games about energy saving that had been prepared for the day. 

The older students took part in energy negotiations, in which students represented different countries and bargained with each other in an attempt to draw up energy use agreements. Finding a consensus proved challenging for the students, but gave them a useful insight into the importance of energy at a national and international level. Meanwhile, the younger students took a ride on the ‘bicycle blender’, which is a regular bicycle but with one big difference – it has a blender attached above its back wheel to make fruit juice! Students had to calculate the amount of energy required to blend the fruit and then attempt to generate that energy and activate the blender by pedalling the bicycle. These activities proved to be enormously successful and students enthusiastically told their teachers about them at the conclusion of the workshop. 

While students were taking part in these activities, other attendees listened to presentations about the Flick the Switch project and other energy saving initiatives that target children and schools. Student contributions to Flick the Switch from across Europe were showcased in a presentation by the project organiser, IPIC. This was followed by presentations from the representatives of different organisations, including the Foundation for Environmental Education, Eco-Schools, Young People’s Trust for the Environment, Climate Energy and PC Powerdown. Overall, the presentations reminded everyone of the importance of educating children about energy saving and the very important role that children play in helping save the environment. 

Once the workshop activities concluded, all attendees, including students, had the opportunity to revisit the different marketplace stands, speak with the project partners and enjoy some lunch. 

Flick the Switch has brought together students and schools from across Europe with his energy saving message. The day was the perfect conclusion to the project and a good reminder that simple actions, like turning off electrical devices when they are not in use, can make a big difference.