'Get Started' contest: awareness raising in Andalusia, Spain

The Get Started (Ponte en marcha) contest for pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools, as organised by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía) Ministry of Mobility and Land Planning, celebrates its fourth year in September 2021.

The contest serves as a teaching resource on sustainable mobility for the very youngest members of the community and their families. In particular, it serves as an awareness-raising campaign for the local community, and promotes behavioural change in favour of non-polluting transport modes.

Participants must:

• Design an awareness-raising campaign on sustainable mobility (video 3-5 min.)
• Develop school activities on sustainable mobility and submit a report

Since its first edition, with the participation of 77 educational institutions, the contest has become an important annual fixture for schools and the local community. It covers key aspects of environmental awareness and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and the high quality entries demonstrate considerable impact on school children and pre-schoolers. Furthermore, the contest enjoys widespread media coverage.

The objectives are to:

• Explain the different aspects of sustainable mobility, including its importance for the community and for individuals.
• Raise awareness on the benefits of sustainable mobility: lower costs, better health, safety, energy efficiency, accessibility, environmental impact, etc.
• Encourage behavioural change in favour of non-polluting transport options.
• Disseminate good practice examples throughout local educational institutions and the local community.

Activities vary from little superheroes fighting against pollution, to the organisation of safe routes to school, road safety impact and awareness, measuring noise pollution, bicycle repair points in secondary schools, research on the mobility habits of families and neighbourhood, requests to the city council for safe route signage, installation of bicycle racks and other transferrable awareness-raising initiatives.  

This initiative is registered as a EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 'MOBILITYACTION' and the prizes of 25 bicycles for the school or kindergarten are awarded in different age categories during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK (16-22 September).