Robin des Watts

Robin des Watts’ concept is to raise school children’s awareness of energy conservation and encourage them to take concrete action for a more equitable and energy efficient world. In this way, they actively participate in the better energy management of school buildings: reduction of heating, management of lighting and electrical appliances.

The financial resources generated by their energy savings are invested in a project that improves the living conditions of a community that does not benefit from energy abundance like us. 

Robin des Watts is a program carried out jointly by Terragir, énergie solidaire and Terre des Hommes Suisse with the support of municipalities since 2009.

Implementation in Switzerland

During the school year, Terre des Hommes Suisse and Terragir regularly intervene in the “pilot” classes (7P- 8P) in Geneva and (7P- 9S) in the canton of Vaud.

Terre des Hommes Suisse runs a workshop in the pilot classes, aiming to provide a context for the children by making them aware of the situation in the country of intervention.
Terragir then runs three workshops on energy for the children in the pilot classes. The school children become aware of good practices in energy consumption and take on the role of energy detectives on a playful hunt for energy savings with thermometers and luxmeters.
At the end of the school year, an energy day and a solidarity day are organised during which the other classes of the school participate. It is then, that the student ambassadors present, in the form of mini workshops, the recently learned eco-gestures as well as the solidarity actions undertaken by their classes within the framework of the program.

In the country of intervention

The savings generated by the municipalities involved were used to finance the following development projects: Installation of greenhouses, solar panels, water heaters, insulation of classrooms, education on children’s rights, etc. In order to improve teaching conditions in 18 schools in Peru and two boarding schools in Bolivia located in rural Andean areas, where study conditions are made difficult by the harsh climate.

For the start of the school year 2020-2021, Terre des Hommes Suisse intends to develop this program in India, where inequalities remain very high despite considerable progress at the economic, political and legislative levels.

The Robin des watts programme has been validated in Geneva by the Department of Public Education (DIP) and recognised for its impact by the General Directorate of Compulsory Education of the Canton of Vaud (DGEO). It is fully integrated within the Plan d’Etudes Romand (PER) and the Sustainable Development Goals (ODD) of the 2030 Agenda. The program is financially supported by the Gelbert Foundation.