We are Energy, the digital generation
We are Energy, the digital generation
Prizes were awarded to the finalists of We are Energy, the annual event for the children of Enel employees. At the Celebration Day in Rome on 18 July, the digital skills and expertise acquired by the participants at the international camp in Umbria were put to the test.
Yes, “We-Do”! The mascot of the Celebration Day for We are Energy, the annual event for the children of Enel employees worldwide, offered its name as the slogan for the 14th edition of the project: “We-Do.” The idea is that each of us can be digital, developing new abilities and skills to make the most of the opportunities that the current revolution offers.
“The Energy of Things” was the theme of this year’s competition, which featured over 2,700 participants aged between 8 and 17. The winners received their prizes on 18 July at the Enel Auditorium in Rome from Patrizia Grieco, Enel Chairman, Francesco Starace, Enel General Manager and CEO, and Ryan O’Keeffe, Enel Director of Communications.
Imagining the digital evolution of a service, an object or a project: the most original and creative ideas were presented in a video which reflected each participant’s most natural form of expression. It was a genuine workout for these digital natives. From the 400+ projects selected, the 116 winners from 16 countries were given the chance to join the two-week We are Energy international camp, in Avigliano Umbro, in the province of Terni in Umbria.
We are Energy: 5 levels of digitalisation
Those present at the Auditorium for the Celebration Day took part in five symbolic tests, contributing to the evolution of We-Do, the mascot representing a kid of the digital generation. This game was used to summarise the educational aspects of the Camp and to check the learning outcomes of the team-building activities and collaborative workshops that had been organised in Umbria.
The Orienteering 2.0 programme offered the rudiments of orienteering and map-reading, as well as digital orienteering. Naturetech, on the other hand, encouraged the kids to discover the environment using an app to recognise insects, tracks and plants. The “Crime on the campus” game was organised in order to stimulate reflection on – and find solutions to – cyber bullying. The participants between 8 and 12 years old took part in an educational robotics course, using drag-and-drop interface software to assemble Lego bricks with small engines and movement sensors. The group of 13 to 17-year-olds experimented with a course on Augmented Reality, which was aimed at enriching the perception of the five senses. There was also a workshop on “fake news” which provided tools and useful resources for exposing false information on the internet.
Inspirational models
Special guests at the Celebration Day talked about the opportunities that the digital revolution offers for the younger generations. As Patrizia Grieco and Francesco Starace explained, the technology available today allows fast entry into the digital world of the future, yet it is equally important to continue to develop the transversal skills, through study and culture, that permit control of that technology. Carlo Bozzoli, Enel Head of Global Digital Solutions, emphasised the importance of behaving with caution and respect towards others on the internet too.
Safety, Health, Environment – the three values represented by the acronym SHE365 – play an essential role in the digitalisation process and need to be safeguarded 365 days a year.
“White hat hackers, the internet data security specialists, are going to be increasingly important and in demand resources in the future. Three years ago, Enel launched a cyber security project with 50 experts working 24 hours a day in over 40 countries worldwide, while we plan to invest €5 billion in digitalisation over the next five years”
Carlo Bozzoli, Enel Head of Global Digital Solutions
There was also space at the event for 17-year-old Valeria Cagnina, who created her first robot at the age of 11, while watching a tutorial on YouTube, and who at 15 was a senior tester for MIT in Boston. She later set up her own school of robotics.
The event concluded with the prize-giving ceremony for this year’s winners, who came from 15 countries: Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Romania, Italy, United States of America, Greece, South Africa, Mexico, Panama, Spain and Peru, and this year’s new entry, Australia. The We are Energy community is increasingly global.