Constanța brings in youth to help plan for future

Image by Primaria Municipiului Constanta

In the Autumn of 2023, the local Innovation Camp workshop for high school students took place in Constanța. It was organised by JA Romania, in partnership with the other local Re-Value partners, the Municipality and the Constanța Metropolitan Area Intercommunity Development Association (ZMC).

During the Innovation Camp, the participants had to create a project plan that would contribute to the improvement of urban mobility and the reduction of traffic in the central area of Constanța. Students worked on a case study and benefited from mentoring and guidance from volunteer consultants with experience and expertise in the field.

The activities aimed at developing young people's skills (communication, teamwork, creativity), stimulating business-oriented thinking and finding concrete, feasible solutions, with a positive impact on the community and the environment. The teams presented the project plans to a jury made up of representatives of the project partners and the Constanța County School Inspectorate, who evaluated the solutions and selected the proposals that have potential and sustainability.

First place

-SMART-CT: a service offered by Constanța City Hall that involves hydrogen vehicles, equipped with an autonomous navigation system. They have ZERO emissions - unlike classic cars that release carbon emissions directly and electric cars that are powered by electricity produced by burning fossil fuel (CO2 release).

Second place

- Signboards at the entrance to the peninsular area with available parking spaces: creation of new exclusively pedestrian areas, a multi-storey car park at Gate 1, addition of public transport routes to the peninsular area on weekends, electric train.

Third place

Increasing the bus fleet, prioritizing shared transport through dedicated lanes and implementing traffic management measures (intelligent transport systems). Campaigns to promote traveling by bus.

Adrian Crăciun, volunteer mentor, said:

"It was a real experience and a real pleasure to participate in this action. Such activities should be organized more often and on a larger scale. The involvement of students in this kind of actions, with their specific openness and enthusiasm, is a great addition to the understanding of the needs that the community and, especially, future generations face. This is the only way we can identify the best solutions to the current challenges, in such a complex issue as urban mobility."

Alin Vintilă, volunteer mentor, said:

"I am extremely pleased and honored to share my experience in the process of organizing the urban mobility contest, which brought together so many students. This initiative demonstrated the positive impact that education can have on how young people understand and contribute to the sustainable development of our community.”

The organization of such an inter-high school urban mobility competition brought with it numerous benefits. First, it gave students the opportunity to develop their creativity and critical thinking by solving problems related to urban mobility. The fact that students worked in mixed teams from different high schools encouraged collaboration and institutional communication. The young people, who did not know each other, managed in a very short time to work as a team and come up with innovative ideas.

This competition also helped raise awareness of the importance of sustainable mobility among students and the local community. Each mixed team made up of students from top high schools and coordinated by a mentor presented innovative solutions for traffic, public transport and environmental problems, showing their commitment to a better future.

The municipality of Constanța wants to continue implementing such projects in order to be closer to the students and to increase and develop values.

A Student at "Ioan N. Roman” Technological High School in Constanța said:

"I liked the fact that I heard many new ideas and brainstormed with a great team. I think it was a very good activity which enhanced our creativity that made us do our best in trying to find a problem in our community."

A Student at "Mircea cel Bătrân” National College in Constanța said:

"It was a unique experience in which I had the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues chosen from different high schools to find solutions to the problems in our city! The activity proposed a new way of thinking that made me look at everyday problems from a different perspective"

A Student at Technological High School of Electrotechnics and Telecommunications Constanța Said:

"I think it was both an educational and a very interesting activity because we learned to work in a team and cooperate, while addressing the real problems of the city of Constanța. I really liked the presentation technique, as well as the familiarization in the field of economics."