Wanting to foster partnerships with the various city governments in the region in order to increase sustainable development awareness for young people, we recently created card game called “I Love My Planet”. Seven different fictional families each illustrate environmentally-friendly activities, green methods of transportation, wind power, endangered species, organic nutrition, the preservation and protection of the environment, and diversity.

The project, which was launched in the spring, will eventually involve all of the seven branch networks in eastern France. Two partnership agreements have already been established with the education services of the cities of Reims and Nancy, as a result of which nearly 3,000 packs of these cards were given out to CM1 students (the equivalent of Year 5 in the UK and 4th grade in the US) in these two cities. These free gifts will contribute to the sustainable development events being created independently by each of these cities.

On 10 June 2010, as part of its support for the “Alive” exhibition – a comprehensive overview of endangered species – Eva Massenet, Communications Officer at BNP Paribas, and Catherine Barrier, PASC Assistant (Pole Accompagnement et Soutien au Commerce – Business Coaching and Support Unit) for the Reims branch network held an organic tea party at the Parc de Champagne for nearly 400 children. Under cloudy skies, the children explored the exhibition organised by GoodPlanet, Yann-Arthus Bertrand’s not-for-profit association, and then feasted on organic apples and chocolate cake with the Happy Families cards in hand.

Then, on 14 June 2010, the students of the Buffon elementary school in Nancy attended a presentation of the Happy Families game, part of the children’s field trip to the park at the plant nursery. They visited an exhibition entitled “Biodiversity – Vital and Fragile”, followed by a visit to the animal park, where they learned about “The role of zoos in species conservation”. At the end of this exhibition, the children were given a preview of the card game.

Next, it’s the children of Strasbourg, Troyes, St Quentin, Besançon and Metz who will be getting to know the characters in the game—and better understanding what sustainable development is all about!