Join us in listening to Chloe Luzar, an environmental science and law student from Macquarie University, Sydney and one of The Earth Prize 2023 Mentors of the Year, providing guidance to the youth participating in the competition. In 2022, Chloe was awarded the 2023 Australian Government New Colombo Plan Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship providing Australian students the opportunity to study and work abroad in the Indo-Pacific. 

Chloe chose to work on the small pacific island of Tonga, a place rich in community and culture but suffering from the effects of extreme weather only exacerbated in the face of unprecedented climate change. She tells us about her experiences there, the troubles faced by the nation and how she is trying to help by working in natural disaster risk and management. Chloe notes her experience was life changing and asks a future guest: “What experience have you had that has completely changed your perspective on what it’s like to be sustainable?”

Tune in for this exciting episode, as our host Matteo interviews Ben McKinley, Nicola Pohlen, and George Freiberg, three high school students from the International School of Zug and Luzern in Central Switzerland. 

They tell us about the story of the Youth Forum Switzerland (YFS), a project initiated by a group of globally engaged students after attending the World Economic Forum in 2017. Their transformative experience inspired them to organize an event in the same spirit, with the aim of giving youth a voice in issues that will impact their future. 

YFS 2024 involved 120+ students working together to host experts and changemakers as well as 900+ high school students from across the globe. In our conversation, we touch on the potential of YFS to involve youth in dialogue around sustainability and catalyze change in their local communities and beyond.

In this episode, we sit down with Jeffrey Opoku, a fascinating Ghanaian changemaker passionate about practical applications of the Sustainable Development Goals. Being exposed to the issue of plastic waste from a young age, he developed a project designed at improving local sustainability education in his home setting. 

Now a little older, he founded the Education for Adaptation Accelerator (E4AA), an organization working to make schools in the African continent 'green hubs of education’ focussing on the handling of plastic waste and ameliorating food systems. This journey has lead him to collaborate with movements like #BreakFreeFromPlastic and Beans is How, aimed at doubling global bean consumption by 2028. 

Jeffrey shares his motto of implementing local solutions is to “build the bridges of partnerships” and “sow the seeds of collaboration”, emphasizing the importance of working directly with local communities.

Come hear our interview with Pierfrancesco, a business student at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. He served as a mentor for The Earth Prize competition, supporting teenage students around the world develop impactful projects that benefit our planet. 
In this episode, Pierfrancesco also tells us about his experience as a student exposed to the new narrative around business education, in which profit must at all costs be balanced with social and environmental outcomes. Having worked firsthand with the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow, Pierfrancesco emphasizes his newfound optimism for the future.

Tune in to our latest episode as we sit down with Peter McGarry and Angela McCarthy, the dynamic duo behind The Earth Prize. Peter and Angela dive deep into the making of the organisation, starting with the seed of inspiration from Peter’s daughter, to the development of The Earth Prize into the global sustainability competition it is today, having reached close to 10,000 teenage students across 2,000+ schools in 151 countries and territories. "If there is anything missing from The Earth Prize, what would it be?", Angela asks the UNPOLLUTED audience. Share your thoughts with us!

Join us to discover the story of Cora McGarry, a 19 year old business and hospitality student. Cora’s participation in one of Geneva’s climate strikes inspired her father, Peter McGarry, an Irish entrepreneur, investor and extreme runner, to create The Earth Prize, a USD 200,000 annual sustainability competition for teenage students around the world. 
Marching with thousands of others, she describes walking past her father’s office: “What I didn't know at the time, was that he was in the office, upstairs, looking out the window down at us, because we had disrupted one of their meetings”. Tune in to hear the full story!

In today’s episode we meet Zlata Shama, the youngest member of The Earth Prize Youth Board. Zlata is a 14-year-old student at the International School of Geneva, and her passion lies in global issues, particularly sustainability, equity, and social interaction. She has actively demonstrated her commitment to these causes through various school initiatives, such as participation in the student council and the 9innovate project. Zlata's dedication extends beyond the classroom; since June 2022, she has been a Villars Institute Fellow, a solution-oriented nonprofit foundation working to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy. She's currently enrolled in the Villars Institute & Minerva Project: Systems Leadership Program. In the summer of 2023, she was honored with a Youth Jury position at the FIFAD film festival. Outside of her impactful work, Zlata is also a nationally recognized dancer. Get ready to be inspired by her insights on our podcast!

In this episode, we meet Dashel Myers, one of the newest Earth Prize Youth Board members, a junior at Fieldston School in the Bronx, whose extraordinary journey spans mathematics, technology, and activism. We touch on how Dashel has co-authored a mathematics textbook using Mathematica and serves as the Ambassador for Wolfram Research. He's also a leading member of the National STEM Honor Society's advisory council, focusing on SEO to enhance STEM accessibility. Dashel's entrepreneurial spirit shines as he founded an AI firm revolutionizing cybersecurity. He's an active supporter of climate-centric political campaigns and co-created the Organizing Resource Library (ORL) with NYU, dedicated to aiding disenfranchised communities. Dashel's future ambition lies in the metamathematics of macromolecule evolution. Join us to learn more about his inspiring journey and vision for the future.

In today's episode, we sit down with the dynamic 17-year-old, Carlota Ferro. Hailing from Lisbon but now calling Geneva home, Carlota is not only a student at College du Leman, Switzerland, but also a fervent advocate for international causes. With a keen focus on inequality, discrimination, and sustainability, she wears multiple hats. As the president of a student group in her school, she spearheads fundraising for WATU, a charity dedicated to advancing education in Tanzania. Additionally, Carlota champions sustainability as the president of the CDL Environmental Association. Her drive took her to the Villars Symposium in 2022, collaborating with peers, educators, and the notable Norwegian food activist, Gunhild Stordalen. They united to champion the adoption of planetary health diets in educational settings. As she gears up to dive into politics, international relations, and social sciences in London next year, Carlota continues to inspire and drive change. Join us as we uncover her journey and aspirations.

Welcome to today's episode, where we'll dive into the fascinating world of F1 in Schools with our guest, Erina. A dynamic 18-year-old from Malaysia, Erina has just graduated from SMK Seksyen 9 Shah Alam Selangor. Her passion is unmistakable – fusing economic growth and STEM development with innovative practices to minimize their environmental impact. Erina's leadership qualities have been prominent as she steered two teams, Keris Racing and ECOLEST9, to clinch victory in the Malaysia F1 in Schools National Finals in consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. Wearing the hats of both project manager and manufacturing engineer, she's showcased a range of skills that led her teams to qualify for the World Finals in both 2021 and 2022. Her team, ECOLEST9, made quite an impression at the 2022 World Finals in Silverstone, UK, securing the best pit display and best team identity awards. Join us as Erina shares her journey, the challenges, triumphs, and the innovation behind their award-winning project.