The highly anticipated moment has arrived for Pitch Your Project 2024, the annual competition that empowers young visionaries to present their innovative solutions for the sustainable development of the Alpine region! After the selection process by our jury composed with representatives from different EUSALP stakeholders, the 2024 edition as unveiled its five outstanding finalists.
These ambitious projects, crafted by the young minds across the EUSALP area, stand out for their creativity, impact, and potential to drive positive change. As we approach the final pitch event, let’s meet the finalists whose groundbreaking ideas could shape the future of the Alps.
Introducing the 5 Finalists of Pitch Your Project 2024
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- Carbon Wise - "An educational board game about travelling sustainably through the Alps" from Austria
Board games have the potential of being an incredibly powerful medium for educating current and future generations on important topics. Crucial topics such as global warming and resource management could be entertainingly conveyed through a fun game. We made an educational boardgame about travelling sustainably in Europe, and we want to propose making an alpine version of it. The aim of this alpine boardgame would be to promote sustainable travel and sustainable tourism.
- Alps2_0 - "Sustainable Paths for the Next Generation" from Italy
The "Alps 2.0: Sustainable Paths for the Next Generation" project envisions a vibrant, community-focused school nestled in the Alpine rural agricultural world. This initiative is designed to create spaces for gatherings, training, and laboratories dedicated to the Alpine circular economy. By engaging young people through hands-on actions related to the Alpine environment and circular economy, the project aims to foster a deeper connection with the region's rich heritage and sustainable practices.
- Ville à Joie - "150 Youth-Driven Events in Rural Villages" from France
"150 Youth-Driven Events in Rural Villages" revitalizes rural communities in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Led by young people, it restores social ties, improves access to services, and promotes civic engagement. By bringing essential services directly to villages, reducing travel, and fostering local associations, the project tackles rural depopulation and isolation, aligning with key themes of youth involvement and mobility in rural areas.
- ALPAQUA - "EU-High strength lyocell type fibers for alpine sportswear applications" from Germany
In the Alpine regions, high-performance textiles such as shell materials that protect against hypothermia are widespread. At the same time, the share of microplastics from clothing in the world's oceans accounts for 33%, surpassing tire wear and urban fine dust. Each year, an additional 30 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the oceans and fragmented into microplastics (cf. Schmäing/Steinlein/Grotjohann, 2019: p. 81; Umweltbundesamt, 2015). These textiles are made from petrochemical fibers like nylon or polyester. By 2030, an increase to 200 billion garments is expected (cf. Quarks, 2019). Therefore, we are developing a technical bio-based natural fiber for mountain sports applications which can replace them all.
- European Youth Career Incubator from Austria
Countries all over the world, and especially in Europe, are talking about youth involvement. But when it comes to the implementation of youth involvement processes, many organizations struggle to reach as many young people as they actually want to. One major reason for this problem is not the lack of interest on part of European youth, but rather the lack of information and awareness. Many young people just don’t know about ongoing projects. Our project aims at solving exactly this issue. So far, every organization tries to promote their projects individually. Instead, we want to build a community-based Wiki where all current and future initiatives are stored in a common database.
All the finalists will be present at the EUSALP annual forum on November 14th, to defend their project on stage and attempt to win one of the three financial awards offered by the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region.
