Developing and disseminating excellent mobility management measures for young people.

Talking about success and the different actions simply isn’t enough. In the CONNECT project dissemination, implementation and learning by doing will be the main drive. The project will contribute to the EU’s energy-related objectives and policies as well as the environmental and social policies set out in the EC’s Green Paper on Energy, the White Paper on Transport and the greenhouse gas emission targets identified within the Kyoto Protocol. The project will contribute to these goals by encouraging school children, students and their parents to use more sustainable modes when travelling to and from school. Local communities and authorities will establish the necessary building blocks to share the project’s know-how and outcomes, providing a European-wide-web of CONNECTed members through a process that starts from an initial state of project contributors and builds upon itself, becoming larger and more beneficial in time, thereby extending the duration of the actual project life span.

Specific project objectives are therefore to:

1. inform children, students and parents of the benefits of travelling to and from school using sustainable modes such as walking, cycling, public transport, school bus transport or carpooling;
2. teach children to travel safely to school by increasing their knowledge and skills as well as increasing their visibility in the public domain;
3. encourage children, pupils and parents to travel to school using sustainable modes;
4. hereby making use of local communities and authorities as promoters and champions of sustainable school travel behaviour through their role of monitoring the local implementation but also as a champion for other communities and authorities, hence ensuring long term follow-up and project validity.

Expected results:

• A campaign concept for primary schools that can be successful in all European countries
• A campaign concept for secondary schools that is tested, evaluated and found to be transferable to other European countries
• A selection of best practices for young people in Europe
• Educational materials and manuals for teachers in several languages
• Excellent dissemination and the creation of a close network via Schoolway.net

Traffic Snake Game – primary schools

Travelling to school in an eco-friendly, safe and healthy way, that’s what it’s all about in this game. The Traffic Snake Game aims to stimulate primary school children and their parents to travel to school either by foot, bicycle, public transport, Park&Walk, or car sharing during (at least) one week

During one week, the whole school plays the Traffic Snake Game. The basic plot line of the game is handing out stickers each time a pupil travels to school during the campaign week with a sustainable mode of transport (e.g. walking, cycling and using the bus or carpooling). All these dots (stickers) are collected on a bigger round sticker that must be put on the snake banner.

The pupils of every class save these dots until they have reached the target and the circle sticker is filled. A full sticker is attached to the large Traffic Snake Game banner of the school. Aim is to attach as many stickers as possible to the banner in an attempt to cover the snake complete.

Eco-Tripper – secondary schools

Eco-tripper calls up secondary school pupils to design and demonstrate own video campaign to stimulate eco-friendly trips in their direct environment, focussing mainly on trips from and to school. Themes for the videos are eco-friendly trips and sustainability (home - school trips, but also leisture trips). Eco-tripper invites pupils to be creative and new, so other sub-themes like healthy or traffic safety can be included as well. Moreover, it is important to consider the climate protection by saving car trips to school and/or leisure activities.

The campaign will start with debates on themes to be used in the short movies. By creating the videos pupils take part in a European wide competition to make the most attractive video campaign. The video competition is divided into three different levels (school, national and European level) At the end of the campaign pupils will safe eco-trips during one week by travelling to school in a sustainable way.

More information:
 Website: www.schoolway.net

Contact: raf.canters[a]mobiel21.be, elke.bossaert[a]mobiel21.be, lies.lambert[a]mobiel21.be or marjan.frederix[a]mobiel21.be