Danube Challenge

22,000 students from across Austria have participated in the “Trinkpass” (Hydration Check) campaign so far. About 400 of them joined this year’s Danube Challenge, which took place in the Donau Auen National Park and the Milser Au on the Inn river, one of the most important tributaries of the Danube.

Through various knowledge and adventure activities, the participants learned important things about and increased their awareness for water as a resource. The Danube Challenge, which was initiated by the Austrian Ministry of Life and Coca-Cola Hellenic Austria in 2007, took place for the fifth time already. Its goal is to sensitize young people to the topic of water and to teach them to use it responsibly in an age-adequate manner. School groups from all over Austria who had participated in the “Trinkpass” campaign, organized by the Ministry of Life in cooperation with Römerquelle, could qualify for this event.

This year’s program for the adventure day included many interesting, fast and humorous challenges. Among other things, the school groups built models of a nature-conservation area from natural materials, wrote lyrics for a short rap song, which they later also performed, or invented a green job. National park experts showed them around the wetlands where they learned about the plants and animals, like fish and bats, living there. The kids also planted grey-alder trees and other young broad-leaf trees. They had to give their all in the action-packed challenges and use their smarts and savvy about our most important river system to master the knowledge-based challenges.

Trinkpass campaign

The participants of the Danube Challenge were selected from the thousands of submissions of the "Trinkpass" campaign. This hydration check campaign helps school kids observe their liquid intake. The initiative has been carried out very successfully in a cooperation of Römerquelle and "Generation Blue," the Austrian Ministry of Life’s water platform for the young generation. Over 22,000 school kids have so far participated.

Reports on the past Danube Challenge are available at www.generationblue.at, the water platform for the young generation of the Ministry of Life. The website also provides information about upcoming activities and how to apply and qualify for them.

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