Ayb School’s Project-Based Learning Green Chemistry Club members took part in Climate Change and Children. Impact, Rights and Participation international conference, where they presented a biodegradable plastics project.
Spearheaded by the Global Campus of Human Rights and Yerevan State University’s Center for European Studies as part of the regional master's program in the Caucasus, the conference was co-organized by Higher Living Foundation, UNICEF Armenia, Austrian Development Agency, ShareMusic & Performing Arts, and the Armenian Small Theater. The aim of the conference was to bring together experts and scientists and discuss climate change and its impact on the future generations.
Ayb School alumni joined the conference as special guests. They spoke about the dangers of climate change and offered possible solutions. Green Chemistry Club members Sergey Badalyan and Syuzanna Yerknapekyan told about the biodegradable plastics they created in Ayb School laboratory, while Ruben Kerobyan presented the device that can be used for the production of bioplastics.
It takes hundreds of years for the plastic bags to decompose, becoming the main reason for pollution. After years of diligent work, Ayb School’s Green Chemistry Club members finally succeeded in producing biodegradable plastics that can substitute the plastic bags we use in our everyday life. Using starch instead of oil-based raw materials, the students produced bioplastics that can decompose within a couple of months.
The Green Chemistry Club got a patent of invention for the biodegradable plastics created in laboratory setting from the Intellectual Property Agency of Armenia. The patent was also included in the registry of the country's Ministry of Economy.
The project got a wave of positive feedback from the conference participants; possibilities for cooperation were also discussed.
The conference was attended by Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin, Global Campus of Human Rights Secretary General Manfred Novak and UN Resident Coordinator for Armenia Shombi Sharp, as well as representatives of the foreign diplomatic missions accredited to Armenia.
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