Creggan school wins climate change photo competition

Sharmin Rahman with Bairbre de Brún

Sinn Féin MEP, Bairbre de Brún has congratulated St Mary’s College in Creggan, Derry, on winning this year’s all-Ireland photo competition on climate change, which was co-sponsored by the European Parliament and the Departments of Environment, North and South.
Students aged 16 to 18  throughout the 32 Counties of Ireland were asked to submit photographs with accompanying captions, based on the theme ‘Climate Change –  Causes, Effects, Solutions’ and the winning entries were selected by an independent panel. The competition was organised by the EP Information Office in Ireland and co-sponsored by the Departments of Environment, North and South.
The overall winners were Sharmin Rahman from St Mary’s College in Creggan, Derry and PJ Moloney from St Conleth’s College in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The runners-up were Helen Quinn and Peter Donoghue from Portumna Community School in Galway and Steven King from Ballyfin College in Portlaoise.
Together with their teachers and some of their classmates, the prize winners will each travel to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in January 2008 to participate in the Parliament’s Euroscola programme.
Speaking as she awarded the winning prize for the North of Ireland to St Mary’s College student Sharman Rahman at a special awards ceremony in Dublin, Bairbre de Brún said:
“This innovative schools competition can greatly assist the battle against climate change by capturing its causes and effects on camera as well as the many ways in which people are trying to do their bit in developing and using energy-saving, resource-efficient, renewable and low-carbon technologies.
The poorest countries in the world will be worst hit and will be least able to prepare themselves and their economies to adapt to these changes.
“EU countries will not escape the effect of climate change either and some of the potential effects we at home can expect are more intense rainfall, more storms, greater risks of coastal flooding and impacts on biodiversity as well as on agriculture.
“This has been captured extremely well by the photographs submitted by St Mary’s College in Creggan and I congratulate Sharmin Rahman and the school on their winning entry.
“Níl ach deis bheag fágtha againn dul i ngleic go héifeachtach leis an athrú aeráide - agus beidh an deis sin ag cúlú uainn go gairid. Beidh athruithe móra ag teastáil sa chóras déantúsaíochta, sa chóras taistil, sa chóras ina ghintear an fuinneamh agus i gcóras maireachtála an daonra.
“I look forward to welcoming the competition winners and their class to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“I pay tribute not just to the winning entry but to all who took part. Their work can help bring home to those in their local area and beyond the reality of climate change and the challenges facing us.”