On March 15, nineteen high school students from Moscow and one from Minsk gathered at the Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering for the final round of the “Water and Us” (“Вода и Мы”) competition.  Competition organizers assigned each participant a region of the world and asked the students to research the region’s climate, geography, demographics, and the use of water in a particular industry.  At the competition, the students gave ten-minute presentations summarizing their findings and fielded questions from a panel of five judges (including a representative from the U.S. Embassy’s Environment, Science, Technology and Health section).  The students also supplemented their oral reports with elaborate power point presentations.  And they did all of it in English.   

The presentations included descriptions of advances in irrigation technology in the Middle East, the prevalence of hydroelectric power in South America, and water use in Central European homes—together showing how water use connects regions and the globe.  Maria Belova of school #849 in Moscow, the first prize winner, described the fishing industry in Northern Europe; she opened her presentation by offering the judges Scandinavian canned fish and asked why so much of the fish sold in Russia is imported from Northern Europe—“do they have a secret?”  (When pressed, Ms. Belova suggested that more efficient processing equipment may be the difference.)  Congratulations to all of the students and their teachers!  Read more about the competition and see pictures of the winners here: http://www.lotuscenter.ru/competition-water