Lao students' bright idea wins bronze medals

The bronze medallists are 14-year-old secondary students (grade 4) Mr Phouthasein Saysana and Mr Phounakhone Sengsouly, who took part in the competition to present their project about ‘Conserving Electricity by using an ordinary mirror’.

With a mirror it is possible reduce electricity consumption by 15 to 21 per cent for lighting a room while also heating it.

From something as simple as a mirror their project was able to demonstrate that it could save electricity and heat the room at the same time with the potential to change people’s lives.

This year over 300 participants from 51 countries competed at the International Environmental Project Olympiad.

Mr Phouthasein explained to the Vientiane Times that increased energy consumption deeply affects the world economy and the environment. Electricity is the main source of energy everywhere so saving it is very important for all countries.

Most electricity is used for lighting homes, offices, schools and more. Using mirrors with lamps is a good idea to give more light with the same electricity.

“We spent several weeks preparing our project before attending the competition.” It was hard work for us over a long period of time under the guidance of our teachers to research and develop the projects.” Mr Phounakhone said.

“We used different strengths of lamps to test the luminosity. We used various types of light bulbs to determine the differences, such as 40 watt, 60 watt, 75 watt, 100 watt and finally we used economic white lights. Overall the experiment showed that the room was more brightly lit with a mirror than without one,” he said.

Mr Phounakhone said he was excited at being awarded a prize on his first visit to such an exciting event and against such wide ranging and strong competition.

“We received our prize thanks to the strong encouragement of our teachers and parents who always supported us during the preparations and at the competition,” he said.

The pair added that they had learned a lot from the competition, a special experience that they wanted to share with their fellow students.

“We are very proud of all the students and teachers whose efforts paved the way for this success,” their school teacher said.

He said students at the school had won prizes in previous competitions both domestically and overseas, but winning the medals in Azerbaijan was a particularly meaningful event for the school and its pupils. “This is an important step to building the reputation of Laos, not only for the country but also for the students, schools and families,” he said.