2005 Volvo Adventure champions Ladysmith Enviro Club from South Africa return to the scene of their earlier triumph with a new project, ‘Cars! Fuel! Carbon!' whilst ever-present India, USA, China, Turkey and Brazil are joined by newcomers from Hungary, Macedonia and the tiny Indian Ocean island of Comoros.
Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Volvo Car Corporation, who presented the winner's cheque to Indonesia in 2007 adds, "Volvo already supports the Volvo Environment Prize and it was both logical and prescient that the Volvo Adventure was added to our environmental portfolio to encourage the adults of tomorrow to engage, enhance, imagine and innovate."
With US$10,000 to the winner, US$6,000 to the runner-up and US$4,000 to the third placed team, competition will be intense but so too will collaboration as Wayne Talbot, the Volvo Adventure Educational Director explains.
"Every year, the bar is raised higher still and these young people come to Gothenburg to present their projects in what is a remarkable fusion of rivalry and synergy," he says.
Now into its seventh year and endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Volvo Adventure has engaged with and encouraged around 250,000 youngsters in over 50 nations as diverse as China and Canada, Australia and America, Ecuador and Egypt.
"The key ingredient in the ongoing success of the Volvo Adventure is the commitment to and passion for the environment by the thousands of youngsters who take part each year," says Siv Persson of WWF, the 2008 Volvo Adventure Jury Chairman, adding, "The clarity of their thinking, their challenging of the issues and the creativity of their sustainable solutions are what mark these young environmentalists out as being very special indeed."
The 15 teams arrive in Gothenburg from all points of the compass on Friday 9th May with their project presentations taking place in front of an invited audience on Monday 12th May and the identity of the winners revealed at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday 13th May 2008.
In addition to the business end of the Volvo Adventure, a social and cultural programme includes a visit to Gothenburg's award-winning Universeum, the Volvo Car Plant and the traditional ‘Volvo Forest Adventure,' at Hällsnäs on the outskirts of the city.
"The environmental exchange is vital to the Volvo Adventure and the spirit of teamwork between nations in the ‘Volvo Adventure Workshop,' is a revelation," says Kikki Hugestrand, Volvo Adventure Project Manager, who adds, "These teenagers arrive as adolescents and leave as young adults having made friends and environmental partners during their stay with us."
