A student from Toluca, Mexico state, is one of 20 finalists in the United Nations global youth video competition.

Andrea Sofía Rosales Vega, a student at the Autonomous University of México State (UAEM), was one of 1,500 students who submitted a three-minute video highlighting climate change activities being undertaken by youths around the world.

Two of the 20 finalists will be selected the winners on the basis of the number of views their videos receive on YouTube. The winners will be provided a round trip to a UN climate change conference in Poland December 2-14.

Rosales, 20, is a member of EcoUrban, an environmental project created by UAEM students that has developed “a lid for a life” program in which the students gather used PET plastic and sell it to a recycling plant.

The funds obtained are used to support several local organizations dedicated to fighting cancer and supporting children living with it.

The program also sells shirts and other clothing made from recycled plastic. The NGO collaborates with several local artists and designers to create a clothing collection that promotes social ecological awareness.

The funds obtained from the sale of shirts, hoodies, backpacks and caps are then reinvested by EcoUrban to set up more plastic collection centers.

Rosales made the “lid for a life” program the focus of her video and is now awaiting to see if it generates enough views to send her to Poland.

As of today it had been viewed 10,467 times.

“I invite everyone to support this project and to be socially responsible, to be aware of our footprint on the planet, of the impact we have over it. We have an obligation to leave a different world,” she said.

Source: El Financiero (sp)