The award winning idea for the gauge was won by pupils of the Theo Thijssen school in Zierikzee. They participated in the Young Energy Society Challenge, organized by the University of Applied Sciences of Zeeland. The challenge was; come up with an idea to raise awareness regarding sea level rise.

A living animation, involving all the children of our island, was designed and added to embrace the gauge and get the island youth united behind the project. 8 adults of Schouwen-Duiveland took up the challenge to support the children’s idea, they united in the Act as One project team.

All pupils from every primary and secondary school on the isle of Schouwen-Duiveland stand together in support of this project Act as One.

The earth is getting warmer and our earth system is out of balance.

Our summers are getting hotter and dryer,
Biodiversity is decreasing by the minute,
Worldwide there is a shortage of fresh water,
and more frequently we are experiencing extremely heavy downpours and snowstorms.

Our sea levels are rising at an increasing rate due to our CO2 emissions, with all the resulting ecological and economic consequences.

Act as One consists of two items that are intertwined and complement to each other: the Gauge and the Living Animation videoclip.

A 40-metre-high gauge has been painted on the silo in Zierikzee, creating an iconic landmark on the isle of Schouwen-Duiveland.

The living animation is a first of its kind and presents the message on climate change executed by 1,750 children and adults. We all sat down together in a square grid, sitting 1,5 meters apart from each other. Each one was equipped with a cellphone and a giant 4-page cardboard book with different colors on each page. A special app gave individual page-turning instructions. That is how this living animation is made. To be more precise; we made in fact 12 living animations Fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle, combined in one videoclip.

It is our ambition that our Act as One videoclip will be shown during the opening ceremony at the United Nations climate summit, COP 26, in Glasgow.

At the same time Act as One is a project raising public awareness of climate change. This project unites, has a visual impact and is destined to reach millions of people, both locally and world-wide.

It is our goal to reach, involve and activate as many people as possible. Together we can change course in this crisis.