Starting in September, Amurrio Bidean (urban society for local development) will start an exciting project focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas, where boys and girls aged 11 to 16 years will have the opportunity to drive electric cars and participate in competitions on the GreenPower circuit.

This activity is aimed at people enrolled in Amurrio or students from local training centres, and its main aim is to promote science and technology skills. The participants will meet twice a week at the Zaraobe Institute facilities, where they will work on electric car assembly, optimization and strategy development, to achieve the desired speed. They will also be given additional responsibilities, such as finding financing and sponsorship to cover race costs and consumables, as well as managing project communications and marketing.

The minimum participation required to carry out this activity is six members, while the maximum is twelve people. This will allow participating people to form teams and work together on different aspects of the project, rotating across different areas: engineering, finance and communications. As well as being a fun experience, these activities offer young people the opportunity to develop practical skills in future-relevant fields, such as electricity, mechanics, aerodynamics, finance, and communications. The professional team will provide the necessary guidance to ensure effective learning.

Registration to participate in the project will be open throughout the month of July. To encourage women’s participation in this masculinization activity, they will be prioritized when forming a team. Girls and boys interested in becoming part of the electric car construction and competition team can contact Amurrio Bidean by calling 945 89 17 21 or by email at formación@amurriobidean.org.

In neighboring Laudio they have spent two courses trying to promote youth interest and motivation in science and technology, through the Bizilabe initiative, launched by the City Council and the Elhuyar Foundation of the Basque Government, after a STEAM diagnosis revealed a “low” scientific-technological vocation among youth, which was emphasized in the case of girls. Similarly, in the last two years, Laudio has organized the Goblin event (for children between the ages of 9 and 11) of the Iberia GreenPower Circuit, organized by world tire leader Bridgestone and the Alfonso Líbano Flint Foundation, in collaboration with the Álava City Council and the Provincial Council.

It is a series of races in which participants design and build their own electric cars which they compete in. In competition, the winner is the one who manages to cover the furthest distance without running out of battery, so it’s not the fastest who wins, but the one who drives in a sustainable and energy-efficient manner.

The GreenPower project was born in Great Britain in the late 90’s, when they organized their first competitions with local teams in Goodwood and Silverstone. Since then, teams from around the world and events in countries such as the United States, China, India, Singapore, Portugal, Malaysia and Poland, have joined. This project was born with the ambition of turning the enthusiasm generated by motor sports into inspiration for young people to develop their STEM skills. Currently, more than 12,500 students in the education level from elementary education to tertiary institutions participate in its activities.