Winners Selected for FY2024 Wall Newspaper Contest on “Our Daily Lives and Energy”

1. Overview of the contest

ANRE annually holds a Wall Newspaper Contest on the theme of “Our Daily Lives and Energy” targeting fourth to sixth grade elementary school children to foster their interest and sense of commitment regarding energy issues, and motivate them to take practical actions in their schools, homes, and communities. It has determined the winners for the FY2024 contest, and will hold a commendation ceremony to honor the winners on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. This is the tenth such contest.

2. Results of the contest

In the FY2024 contest, ANRE received 248 newspapers from 421 school children. As a result of the final examination following the primary and secondary screenings, it selected two newspapers for the Grand Awards (METI Minister’s Awards), seven for the Special Awards, 11 for the Excellent Awards, 19 for the Merit Awards, and three for the School Awards as winners.

As the winners of the Grand Awards (METI Minister’s Awards), the following two newspapers gained the highest evaluation for the good organization of their own ideas based on solid research and the expression thereof in an easy-to-understand manner.

Winners of the Grand Awards (METI Minister’s Awards)

Ms. Sato Mikoto, sixth grader, Shinkawa Elementary School, Sapporo City

Title: Shift in Thinking: From a Pioneer to a Partner

Evaluation comments from the Chair of the Examination Committee
This wall newspaper organizes well the results of an inquiry in which the writer sought to find an answer to a question posed in an exhibition at a museum, namely “fossil fuels support our ‘current lives,’ but can they bolster our future, too?” The newspaper is a well-structured piece in which the writer ascertains the current use of energy while bearing in mind the transition in the use of fossil fuels, and then considers the future. The writer’s statement that “fossil fuels will continue to support our future lives, but we need to reduce the roles that the fuels play even a little” is very convincing. The wall newspaper received a very high evaluation from the perspectives of the logic of inquiry, presented details, and opinion building.

Mr. Kaizu Sota, fifth grader, Nigorikawa Elementary School, Niigata City

Title: Future Newspaper about Living Things and Us

Evaluation comments from the Chair of the Examination Committee
In this wall newspaper, the writer makes good use of the advantage of digital technology to write the articles, while also clearly expressing his own opinions. The writer pays attention to the issue of global warming, seen from the fact that polar bears are in danger of extinction, and poses the question “Is there anything we can do to protect living things on the Earth and people’s everyday lives?” From this standpoint, he pays attention to an ideal way to generate electricity, points out the importance of the S+3E and energy mix perspectives, and mentions international efforts and new energy development. The wall newspaper received a very high evaluation from the perspectives of the design, composition, ability of inquiry, and opinion building.

List of the winners’ newspapers

• Website of the Base Camp for Promoting SDGs Energy Learning to Think about and Create the Future (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

Research and Public Relations Office, Policy Planning and Coordination Division, Commissioner’s Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy