BALI (BPN) – An outstanding Indonesian school has been named a Top 3 finalist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture and American Express.
Green School Bali, a K-12 international school in Bali, which has woven environmentalism into the fabric of the school itself through a plethora of initiatives from bio buses to compost toilets, is a Top 3 finalist for the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action.
“As the world looks to rebuild from the devastation of the COVID pandemic, far too many children will continue to be left behind unless we see urgent action on education. Leaders must learn from the knowledge and experience contained within our schools because those at the frontlines of education know better than anyone else the change we need to see.
“The World’s Best School Prizes surface the expertise of inspirational schools from every corner of the globe. It’s time for governments everywhere to listen to their voices,” Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes said.
The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – celebrate schools everywhere for the pivotal role they play in developing the next generation of learners and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress, especially in the wake of COVID.
The Prizes were founded by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, Templeton World Charity Foundation, the Lemann Foundation, D2L, Mellby Gård, and Universidad Camilo José Cela, to share the best practices of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a real difference to their communities.
Peter Lacy, Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer at Accenture, said, “Accenture is proud to collaborate with T4 Education on the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action, which celebrates schools’ incredible efforts to empower the next generation to harness new technologies and innovative practices that tackle the global sustainability issues that impact us all. Through this prize, we aim to recognize the tools and techniques nurtured by schools and share them with a broad audience, enabling others to replicate their work and multiply the impact at speed and scale.”
“Congratulations to Green School Bali for being named a Top 3 finalist for the first-ever World’s Best School Prizes. Teachers everywhere will be inspired by the example of this outstanding Indonesian school.”
Meanwhile, Madge Thomas, Head of Corporate Sustainability at American Express, said that they are pleased to recognize students and educators who are taking action to protect the environment and their futures.
“As we at American Express work to advance climate solutions, we will continue to support programs and partnerships like this one to help build more climate resilient and equitable communities,” Madge Thomas said.
The Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will now be entered into a Public Advisory Vote.
Members of the public have until October 2 to tell judges who they think should win each prize at worldsbestschool.org/
The Judging Academy, comprising distinguished leaders all across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector, will be presented with the results of the public advisory vote and will assess the finalists based on rigorous criteria.
The winners will be announced on October 19 2022 at World Education Week. A prize of US$250,000 will be shared equally among the winners of the five Prizes, with each receiving an award of US$50,000.
All shortlisted schools across the five Prizes will share their best practices during events at World Education Week and through School Transformation Toolkits that showcase their “secret sauce” to innovative approaches and step-by-step instructions on how others can replicate their methods to help improve education everywhere.
Green School Bali, a K-12 international school in Bali, has woven environmentalism into the fabric of the school itself. It uses compost toilets, feeds the school pigs using leftovers from student meals made from produce in its gardens, and even has a unique network of bio buses that take children to and from campus.
Teaching a cohort of 370 students from over thirty different countries, Green School Bali seeks to connect its students with nature in the hopes of preparing them for the challenges presented by climate change and environmental degradation.
The school’s philosophy has transcended borders, with branch schools opening up in New Zealand and South Africa.
Taking notes from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals, it plans its lessons through the lens of a greener world. But what is really unique about the school is that almost every component of its facilities and educational model is shaped to ensure environmental sustainability.
In 2015, students and faculty at Green School Bali launched the Bio Bus – Indonesia’s first 100% biofuel-powered transportation system which uses recycled cooking oil. It has its own recycling and waste management service called KemBali, located just outside the school’s gates. Many within the local community continue to use it and it has been emulated in other nearby villages.
These practices are also sewn into the social lives of students. Some days a student could arrive at school, do gardening in the morning and later place their leftover food in a bucket to feed the pigs stationed on campus.
Green School Bali’s compost toilets process waste to nourish the bamboo that grows all over campus. Jokingly called “the human resource center,” the newer toilets sports designs created by teachers and students.
If Green School Bali were to win the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action, it would use the funds to enhance the learning experience for Green School students and continue expanding its mission of educating changemakers who will regenerate our world, around the world.
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