Municipality Launches Competition for a 'Cool' Sea Cycle

A municipality in Bodrum is encouraging creative minds to design sea vehicles that have a minimal negative effect on the environment.

"Design a sea vehicle and win a seaside holiday." That's the lure the Turgutreis Municipality is using to announce the 2010 "Eco-siklet" competition to university students throughout Turkey, introducing a new concept in the country. The "Eco-friendly sea vehicle" design competition will focus on environmental and engineering knowledge to create opportunities for sustainable tourism.

With substantial support from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, the competition requires university students to team up and design a "human-powered sea vehicle." The medium could run on leg-power like a paddleboat or arm-power like a canoe; either way, the "energy source" must come from the drivers themselves. A jury will select six finalist teams, and the municipality will invite them to race their vessels during the annual Admiral Turgutreis Festival held in June.

Prizes

Each of the six finalist teams will receive an award of 1,000 Turkish Liras and will be hosted by the Turgutreis Municipality during the three-day festival held in June. Two students will be awarded "stajerliks," summer internships for university students, at the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, and the ultimate winning team will receive the grand prize of a one-week "Blue Cruise" on the Aegean.

There is also potential to develop the winning vessel or the most reproducible design as a commercial prototype.

Aim of the competition

The "Eco-siklet" competition hopes primarily to bring awareness to young people about the importance of sustainable development on the Bodrum Peninsula and the need for "environmentally friendly" tourism. The competition also hopes to introduce university students to the Turgutreis Municipality as a holiday destination and showcase the traditional Admiral Turgutreis Memorial Festival.

The jury will be judging all entries on three criteria: aesthetics, function, and environmental sensitivity. As one of the festival volunteers, "Eco-Siklet" Competition Coordinator Deborah Semel Demirtaş explains: "Function doesn't just mean speed; the winning vehicles will have to be able to negotiate a course, which makes handling and practicality important. Moreover, the 'eco-siklet' needs to have an appealing look so it can attract tourists. Remember that while on holiday speed should not be the most important, but the enjoyment of the experience. When it comes to the environment, pollution has a negative effect on tourism; the original designs that are produced for the "eco-siklet" competition should show environmental sensitivity to help spread this concept to all segments of society."

She also said it should be fun, reproducible, and even have potential as a business model.

When asked how the idea of the competition came about, she said she was inspired while on vacation in Fethiye, where she saw that tourists were lining up to get on the paddleboat decorated with dolphins and with a mini-waterslide on the back, and ignoring the 'plainer' ones. It hit her that a simple pollution–free vehicle was "cool," fun, and attractive. This, she thought was an alternative to the overpowering jet-skis, which are polluting, expensive and not desired by all tourists.

The jury itself has been carefully selected to have the credentials for judging. It includes Ali Dolu, a mechanical engineer with expertise in product design and quality development who has held positions in the Turkish automotive and white goods sectors. Dr. Çolpan Polat Beken who holds the title of Expert Researcher at TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center's Institute of the Environment. A marine environment expert, who represents TÜBİTAK on the Marine Board of the European Science Foundation and has also worked with the UN Environment Program, or UNEP, on the Action Plan for the Mediterranean.

Environmental activist Zeynep Bilgi Buluş is also appointed to the jury; she has experience working in the UN Development Program, or UNDP, Small Grants Program, and the Turkish environmental association Society for the Protection of Nature, or DHKD, and is currently conducting experimental farming activities in Bafra, Samsun.

Another jury member will be the resident of Turgutreis Burhan Doğançay, one of the most well-known names in the world of modern Turkish fine art, who has been honored with the Turkish Republic's Presidential Award for Culture and the Arts.

By offering the university students the opportunity to show off their creativity in the "Eco-siklet" Competition, the Turgutreis Municipality aims to support young artists, designers and engineers. The competition is open to all students registered at Turkish universities, who can access information and entry forms at the Turgutreis Municipality web site, www.turgutreis.bel.tr. All entries must be received by Earth Day, April 22, 2010.

Potential participants may receive more information about the registration procedure from "Eco-siklet" 2010 Coordinator Deborah Semel Demirtaş at 0536 494 81 35 and Turgutreis Municipality Council Member Funda Akçalı at 0532 263 03 97.

Source: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=world-diary-4-1210-08-2009-12-10