The International GreenMascot Student Contest 2026 is officially open!
Students from Bulgaria, Türkiye, Romania and Greece are invited to bring together creativity, environmental awareness and the power of sport to develop their own GreenMascot and an idea for positive environmental action.
The challenge gives young people the opportunity to explore the environmental issues affecting the Black Sea Basin and show how sport can become part of the solution.
What is the challenge?
Participating teams are invited to choose a threatened species, plant or ecosystem of the Black Sea Basin that they want to protect and build their GreenMascot concept around it.
But the challenge goes beyond designing a character.
Each team should also propose a concrete environmental action, initiative or tool that can be promoted in and through sport, connecting their mascot with a real environmental cause.
To present their idea, teams will prepare:
- an original GreenMascot concept representing their chosen environmental cause;
- a video of up to 3 minutes telling the story behind their idea;
- a short presentation in English explaining the mascot, the environmental challenge and the proposed action.
Professional video production is not required. What matters most is the idea, creativity, connection between sport and the environmental cause, and the feasibility of the proposed action.
Who can participate?
Each team should consist of 2-3 students and one teacher or mentor.
The contest brings together young people from all four GreenMascot partner countries:
Bulgaria
Türkiye
Romania
Greece
📅 The application period opens on 1 October 2026, and teams have 40 days to develop and submit their entries – until 9 November 2026.
From national ideas to an international final
The journey does not end with the national selection.
Following the pre-selection process, two teams from each participating country – eight teams in total – will advance to the International GreenMascot Contest Final in Naoussa, Greece.
There, the finalists will have the opportunity to present their GreenMascot concepts and environmental actions to the Selection Committee and the public, meet young people from the other participating countries and share their ideas on how sport can contribute to a greener future.
One mascot for the Black Sea Basin
At the international final, one winning idea will be selected to become the GreenMascot of the Black Sea Basin region. 🏆🌊
The winning concept will represent the shared GreenMascot message and help inspire environmental action through sport across the participating countries.
For young people, the contest is an opportunity to do more than compete. It is a chance to give a voice to an environmental cause, transform creativity into action and show that sport can be a powerful driver of positive change.
Ready to join the race?
🌿 Choose your cause.
🎨 Create your GreenMascot.
🏃 Turn sport into environmental action.
Applications are open from 1 October to 9 November 2026.
