Lidl’s mind REset youth eco-entrepreneurship scheme a success

The inaugural educational, environmental mind REset scheme has been completed with great success.

Lidl Cyprus’ mind REset programme, implemented in collaboration with Junior Achievement Cyprus and the Ministry of Education, recently gave elementary and secondary school students a chance to identify the consequences of using plastic in daily life, and to propose practical and sustainable eco-friendly solutions.

Within this framework, the 2022 mind REset programme culminated in an award ceremony, which took place on February 15, 2022 at the Pancyprian Organisation of Greek Teachers (POED) events hall, in the presence of Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou.

The “mind REset” programme is a fun and interactive scheme for elementary and secondary school students, whose five lessons aim to introduce these age groups to eco-entrepreneurship, while helping them develop skills to contribute to the overall protection and preservation of the environment.

In total, mind REset participants included:

• 87 schools from all over Cyprus
• 190 departments
• a total of 3,612 students

Furthermore, over 200 teachers lent their support to the implementation of the programme

Judges evaluated finalists’ business ideas, their exhibits and stands, as well as the quality of their presentations on stage and the responses they offered. The ideas submitted harmonised with one of the five action areas of the international strategy of Lidl Cyprus and the Schwarz Group for plastic, REset Plastic.

The two teams eventually named Mind Resetters of the year 2022, winning an educational business experience abroad, were the teams “EAT THE BOX” from the Primary School of Ayios Athanasios II, and the team “ECO CLIP” from the High School of Engomi.

EAT THE BOX’s idea was edible dough containers known as zy-mart boxes. These would replace disposable plastic food containers, thus helping to reduce plastic. After consuming the contents in the box, customers would either eat the boxes themselves, or discard them as non-polluting waste’ for the Earth to “eat”.

ECO CLIP on the other hand, proposed a hand-made, airtight bag clip that is 100-per cent eco-friendly, made of wood. Intended to re-seal food bags, keeping contents fresh for longer, the device stands out from the rest of the clips found on the market as it is hand-crafted, with an original, visually innovative design.

Second runners-up were the “PwP” team from the Astromeritis Primary School, whose idea was to create biodegradable pots for small plants, using simple materials: topsoil, seeds, newspapers, toilet paper rolls, paint and rope, and the “HEY HAY” team from the Gymnasium-Lyceum Olympion, whose proposal entailed an ‘ecological’ plastic whose creation process causes no harm to the planet.

Third runners-up were the “WorldREstart” team from the 9th Elementary School of Limassol, whose idea was to incentivise plastic waste collection from the environment (parks, beaches, fields, etc.) by families, via discounts from stores, and gifts from companies, and the “Spare Pen” team of the 2nd Regional High School of Nicosia-Malounda, who proposed a new wooden, eco-pen for all ages, to reduce plastic and save money.

Thanks to the common vision shared by all participants in the “Less plastic – Closed Circles of raw materials” scheme, Lidl Cyprus continues its commitment to helping safeguard the planet and the environment, for future generations, because everyone deserves a better tomorrow.

Watch the mind REset award ceremony video here.

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