2008 Woodie Awards
mtvU, GE start campaign for 'green' campuses
Joshua Cameron
Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Life
Originally published: 11/9/06 at 5:55 PM EST
Last update: 11/9/06 at 5:55 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
There are not many occasions when someone is able to relate television to environmental activism.
Recently Music Television University - mtvU - has added one instance when television is a catalyst for environmental change when they announced a partnership with General Electric - GE - to launch a search for ideas to make college campuses environmentally safe. The program, known as Ecomagination, is a nation-wide search open to all students on any campus.
Ecomagination allows students to register for the competition via the campaign's Web site at www.ecocollegechallenge.com. At the Web site, students are able to propose their ideas within the registration form to be reviewed by mtvU.
Submissions will be accepted until Dec. 1. At that point, mtvU and GE will work together to pick 10 finalists. Those 10 finalists will have their projects profiled on the Ecomagination Web site.
Once the finalists are decided, it will be left up to student voting to decide which of those 10 will be the winner.
The chosen student will receive $25,000 to implement their proposal. They will also receive a concert and festival for their campus to be held on Earth Day, March 20, 2007.
Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU, said the overall objective of Ecomagination is to listen to what the students' ideas are.
"College students are trendsetters," Friedman said. "They will have the best answers because they are the ones that have to deal with it."
From there, mtvU and GE will analyze each entry looking for traction in each proposal and the one that will provide the best overall results. The main idea is to have something that can be implemented and will show a tangible impact on the surrounding environment.
"Ideas should show you have created a more sustainable environment," Friedman said.
The Ecomagination Web site offers tips such as education material, planning steps and ways to assess the need for an idea or how to encourage others to get involved to help students who may be interested in entering the contest get started. There are also examples of projects that have been previously implemented available to provide a starting ground for other proposals.
Friedman welcomes students to suggest any idea they deem plausible.
"We know the best ideas will come from our audience," Friedman said. "Our audience is smarter than we are."
Recently Music Television University - mtvU - has added one instance when television is a catalyst for environmental change when they announced a partnership with General Electric - GE - to launch a search for ideas to make college campuses environmentally safe. The program, known as Ecomagination, is a nation-wide search open to all students on any campus.
Ecomagination allows students to register for the competition via the campaign's Web site at www.ecocollegechallenge.com. At the Web site, students are able to propose their ideas within the registration form to be reviewed by mtvU.
Submissions will be accepted until Dec. 1. At that point, mtvU and GE will work together to pick 10 finalists. Those 10 finalists will have their projects profiled on the Ecomagination Web site.
Once the finalists are decided, it will be left up to student voting to decide which of those 10 will be the winner.
The chosen student will receive $25,000 to implement their proposal. They will also receive a concert and festival for their campus to be held on Earth Day, March 20, 2007.
Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU, said the overall objective of Ecomagination is to listen to what the students' ideas are.
"College students are trendsetters," Friedman said. "They will have the best answers because they are the ones that have to deal with it."
From there, mtvU and GE will analyze each entry looking for traction in each proposal and the one that will provide the best overall results. The main idea is to have something that can be implemented and will show a tangible impact on the surrounding environment.
"Ideas should show you have created a more sustainable environment," Friedman said.
The Ecomagination Web site offers tips such as education material, planning steps and ways to assess the need for an idea or how to encourage others to get involved to help students who may be interested in entering the contest get started. There are also examples of projects that have been previously implemented available to provide a starting ground for other proposals.
Friedman welcomes students to suggest any idea they deem plausible.
"We know the best ideas will come from our audience," Friedman said. "Our audience is smarter than we are."
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