He is only 12, but his essay – Preservation of Oceans and Sea Resources has amazed even scientists. Alexander Paskalev is a student at Sofia’s Albert Einstein High School. He writes poetry, loves reading books - mostly modern science fiction. He gets excited about environmental issues and looks for solutions to pollution. Thus he ended up in the talented students’ club under a nationwide program of the educational ministry, where many kids studied about UN global targets for sustainable development. Teacher Dessislava Ognyanova prepares the children there for participation in an international essay competition in English, discussing these goals. The currently developed subject concerns underwater life. Alex used it to write his protection & management plan for oceans, seas and sea resources.

“I was compelled by the idea of Alex – an inhabitant of an asteroid presents a view from outer space on oceans and seas, sending coded messages to people on Earth how to solve their pollution issues,” Alexander’s teacher is excited to say. “Smaller children have incredible ideas and if we take those into consideration we can find solutions there.”

The essay of the Bulgarian student managed to impress the jury within the competition among 700 coevals from 54 countries. He was then invited to the City of Victoria on the Seychelles for participation in an annual debate of finalists – kids ranked 1 – 10. The debate is usually related to the global sustainability goal. The Seychelles were selected to host the event, as 2018 had been proclaimed an International Year of the Reef. The participants in the children’s conference were divided into four groups, representing respectively the government, citizens, business and scientists. Alex happened upon ‘scientists’, where he suggested interesting and practical ideas:

“The first one concerns sea farms for different fish species along the coastline, in order for fishing to be avoided. The second one is for regulations in the sphere of ocean protection. The reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions was the third thing that I proposed, as 1/3 of it goes into the sea. Synthetic fertilizers that go into water basins through rivers should be banned. Finally – lower prices of solar panels, compared to gas ones for the purpose of a more sustainable life.”

After his glamorous attendance of the children’s conference, Alexander was selected to become an ambassador of the kids in a debate meeting with real scientists, businessmen and government representatives. He managed to get distinction there as well with his creative ideas: ozone clouds, replacing the ozone layer; garbage-eating fish; a magnet for plastics named plastnet, sonar boats for different polluters…  Alex says that plastic is the most dangerous thing about seas, as animals tend to see it as food and die afterwards. The Seychelles impressed Alex with the nature and the huge bats which flied over the buildings at dusk in large flocks. He also met many children from around the globe:

“I met a lot of kids and two boys from Lebanon seemed to be the greatest match for me,” Alexander says. "Among the ides of the others I liked the one about robots collecting garbage under the water and drones looking over the beaches for pollution. Also the one on an alarm sounding whenever a boat carries a lot of fish…”

“The good thing about this contest is that the most creative essays ranked on the top positions are sent to the UN Secretary General as a part of the children’s voice in achieving of the sustainable development goals up to 2030,” Dessislava Ognyanova says.

Alexander still hasn’t decided whether he will be a scientist or a science fiction novelist after 2030 – time will show this…

English version: Zhivko Stanchev