In Hauts-de-Seine, eco-responsibility begins in middle school. Since 2009, the department has in fact set up its eco-college system (for public or private establishments under contract), a global educational project structured around issues linked to sustainable development. This participatory and sustainable approach, driven and managed by the establishments themselves with the help of the department's services, is materialized in particular by the MéDDailles des Hauts-de-Seine challenge, which is in its fifth edition. “We realized that many colleges were implementing sustainable development actions, sometimes very simple and effective, such as collecting leaves or papers within the premises of the establishment, but that they were not making it known , says Nathalie Léandri, vice-president of the Hauts-de-Seine department in charge of education and digital education. With MéDDailles, the objective is to bring together as many students as possible, to have a lasting action that is part of the history of the establishment.”
“Many colleges were implementing sustainable development actions but did not make it known”
Concretely, volunteer colleges must submit their application between December 9, 2024 and March 16, 2025 (midnight) and choose three themes maximum (out of ten) for which they wish to be medalists. Only one application per establishment is accepted, presenting one to three actions in progress or completed.
Encourage actions outside of college
The medals are awarded according to two criteria: the level of student involvement, and the number of students involved in the deployment of the action (a class, all the students in the establishment, etc.). Colleges can hope to obtain a bronze medal in the first year, silver in the second year when the action is long-term, and gold when it has lasted for at least three years. “We encourage actions within the college, but also those carried out outside, in outreach,” explains Nathalie Léandri. For example, last year a middle school worked with elementary schools in the area to educate its students about eco-responsibility.”
-The jury will then meet on April 9 and the results will be revealed on June 17 during a party organized at the Seine musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 2024, 50 colleges and 6,700 students participated and the jury awarded 130 medals. The jury prize (and an award of 5,000 euros) was won by the Robert-Doisneau college in Montrouge for its project Les collageuses-week of equality, in favor of gender equality.
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