Energy Transition in Its Infancy

These playful activities are part of the “Let’s Netz” initiative, which aims to introduce children and young people to the topic of energy, how it works, and what the future of energy supply could look like. Another goal is to spark and encourage the interest of girls and young women in technical professions. The initiative ran from June 2023 to this May at four schools in Vienna’s Seestadt. Electricity, energy, and sustainability may be abstract concepts—but children have to deal with them in everyday life anyway, says Alexandra Lamprecht, who teaches at the aforementioned primary school. Especially when it comes to climate change and its consequences, it’s important to address these issues together with the children, as the topic is already present: “I believe children pick up much more than we think—more than we’d like. And in a very passive way, for example, when parents watch the news on TV. They know something isn’t right, but they don’t have a concrete picture of it. That’s difficult for children who should have a carefree view of the world at this age.” This uncertainty must be addressed by giving children tools to counter feelings of helplessness. This is exactly where the Let’s Netz initiative comes in, playfully imparting practical knowledge and promoting the understanding of complex relationships. Lamprecht is convinced:

Even in elementary school, creativity is incredibly strong, says Lamprecht: "Innovation may sound like a big word for nine- or ten-year-olds. But actually, it's what children do all the time – without calling it that. They are curious, they are creative – and that's exactly what you need for innovation. Even if they know their inventions might not be implemented as they imagined – I believe it helps against that feeling of powerlessness."
Another key factor is making sustainability and energy efficiency visible in the students' environment. Koidl: "You can already see this in the buildings – modern schools are designed to be much more energy efficient than older ones and use advanced technical solutions. There are automatic shading systems that minimize sunlight and other measures to regulate the indoor climate." The way in which children are introduced to the topics of energy and sustainability was developed jointly by the participating teachers and project partners and individually adapted to the grade level and knowledge base.

An approach that Lamprecht greatly appreciates: "The focus was on the workshops in which the children actively participated – and which we developed together with all partners in advance. That's exactly what makes the co-creation approach of Let's Netz so special. It's an approach I hadn't seen before." And the initiative has another key benefit, says Lamprecht: "In the new curriculum, the concept of 'Education for Sustainable Development' is a mandatory guiding principle that all schools should work on – and with Let's Netz, this was implemented very well."
Technical content and excursion destinations are provided by project partner Wiener Netze. Even before Let's Netz, they reached out to children and young people through the character Mona Netz, says Nicole Wagner, Head of Human Resources at Wiener Netze. The character with "raspberry-red hair and a white lab coat" is a permanent part of the children's program – whether at school tours, kids' days, family festivals, or the Vienna holiday program. "She is our role model or showcase figure for children, especially for the younger ones," says Wagner. Her use is versatile: "She appears at events, in the Technical Museum, in YouTube videos – everywhere we want to teach children about energy in a playful way." Mona Netz is even used during workshop tours with school classes – there she explains at eye level how electricity, gas, and network infrastructure are connected. "The children find it incredibly exciting to learn how electricity travels and how it gets from the wind turbine to the socket," says Marion Koidl.