The Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency and Wellness has named six winners of the Climate & Energy Challenge. Five of the six winners were presented with their prizes at the Government Administration Building. The lucky six were chosen at random from the participants that had scored 10 or more on the challenge’s quiz. In total, fifty-three members of the community participated in the challenge. 

The online challenge, which ran from 2 September to 13 October 2024, was designed to raise awareness about climate change and energy, inspiring residents to take actions in their daily lives. The initiative involved watching a series of online videos and engaging with daily informative content over a 30-day period, with the last day of the calendar featuring a quiz that tested participants’ knowledge of climate change and energy. Participants who scored 10 points or more in the final quiz were entered into the prize draw. The challenge was activated across all three islands and was sponsored by Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC), Foster’s Supermarket, Island Energy and Cayman National Bank.

The six winners are: 

• David Boccuti, Little Cayman 
• Dannoya Dennis, Grand Cayman 
• Giovanna Lazzari, Grand Cayman
• Sterling Darien Ebanks, Grand Cayman
• Zara Majid, Grand Cayman 
• Tashoya Brown, Grand Cayman 

 The Ministry is committed to informing the community about climate change and energy in line with the Climate Change Policy (2024-2050) and the National Energy Policy (2024-2045). This challenge was one of many initiatives that the Ministry has conducted this year to engage and educate the community on these topics. 

Chief Officer Nellie Pouchie, Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency and Wellness, said: “By delivering creative initiatives like this, the Ministry is helping the wider community to engage, learn and have conversations about climate risks and their impact on individual lives. By learning more about climate change and energy issues, every participant is empowering themselves with the knowledge to make changes in their own lives too.”

Five of the six competition winners were students, and they shared how their participation in the competition has helped them to become more aware of how climate and energy issues intersect with their specific studies such as tourism and business. 

Dannoya Dennis, a student at University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI), was named as the grand winner, taking home a $300 gift card donated by Foster’s Supermarket and a $200 cheque from CUC. Receiving her prize, she said: “Thank you so much, I’m really happy to have taken this challenge. I am studying tourism, and this challenge has really made me think more about how the climate and environment affects the tourism industry.” 

Morgan Golden-Ebanks, Policy Advisor – Resiliency said: “I want to thank everyone who took time to enter the competition. We appreciate our sponsors for supporting the initiative and providing the prizes, and thank the Cayman Compass, Cayman News Service, and Caymanian Times for helping us to get the word out.”

Lisa Hurlston-McKenzie, Senior Policy Advisor – Climate Resiliency said: “I was delighted to see that the Climate & Energy Challenge caught the attention of young people and was heartened to hear their perspectives, feedback and how the challenge inspired them to consider climate change issues in their homes or areas of study. As a Ministry, we will continue to deliver programmes for the whole community, supporting the holistic understanding of Cayman’s climate and energy challenges, as well as opportunities.”

For more information on climate change and the Climate Change Policy (2024-2050), visit www.gov.ky/sustainability/climatechangepolicy, and to learn more about energy efficiency and the National Energy Policy (2024-2045) head to www.gov.ky/energy.