The Forest Side SSS girls won the grand final of the Deba Klima, televised on MBC 2 and MBC Sat on the evening of Monday July 10. The event will now be held annually.
Initially involving 66 secondary schools, the competition aims to raise awareness of climate change issues among young people and the general public.
The final pitted Collège Royal de Curepipe against the girls from Forest Side College. The middle-schoolers made their voices heard on the theme: Bizin bann aksion sok pou fer dimounn pran kont bann danze ki sanzman klimatik amene.
The SSS Forest Side girls spoke out in favor of these aksion sok, while their RCC opponents were resolutely against. In a high-profile debate moderated by artist La Nikita, the SSS Forest Side girls stood out and convinced the jury, which included artist Lion KKlash, Stephane Lebon – Sustainability Manager at MCB, Sookdeo Rungoo – Manager at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, lawyer Johanne Hague and environmentalist Fabiola Monty.
Simran Janoo – team leader of SSS Forest Side and executive member of her college’s Eco Club, explains: “It wasn’t difficult to convince me to take part in Deba Klima; I’m passionate about this subject. I had so much to say, and I knew I had to do it for Mother Nature. My participation was clearly motivated by my sincere interest in the climate, and I couldn’t pass up such an opportunity to make my voice heard for a cause so close to my heart”, she emphasized.
Thanks to their victory, the SSS Forest Side students and their teacher will be heading for Rodrigues in a few days’ time, as they have won an eco-discovery trip from July 17 to 21, during the school vacations. The students also pocketed vouchers worth Rs 30,000 each, while their teacher won a voucher worth Rs 6,000. The Royalists, for their part, received gifts worth Rs 15,000 per student.
As a reminder, Deba Klima is an initiative of MCB and the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, with the collaboration of Dr. François Gemenne, a specialist in the geopolitics of the environment and migration.
