Credit: ACTE

Transition Minett and the Interreg ACTE project have provided an update on the results (so far) of the ACTE x Ma Petite Planète environmental challenge (oceans edition), as it comes to an end.

For three weeks, more than 100 people from the Alzette Belval region rallied around a common goal: to tackle as many ecological challenges as possible as a team for this special edition of the game dedicated to the protection of water and oceans.

At a time when World Oceans Day (8 June) and the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France are putting this issue back at the forefront of the news, this collective challenge has sparked "unprecedented" momentum between the Luxembourg and French municipalities in the region, according to the organisers.

From Monday 26 May to Monday 16 June 2025, thirteen teams are participating in the "Ma Petite Planète" challenge, a special edition dedicated to water and the oceans, in partnership with La Fresque Océane and the Bloom association. For three weeks, residents and stakeholders in the Alzette Belval area have been taking on a collective challenge for the planet. Led by the Interreg ACTE project (together with "Citoyens pour la Transition Écologique") and the Ma Petite Planète game, this environmental challenge has mobilised 113 participants divided into thirteen teams, with a variety of profiles, ranging from Belval students to association volunteers, including municipal technicians and committed residents.

As of Tuesday 10 June 2025, the players have already completed 748 ecological challenges, resulting in the following concrete results:

  • 3,527 kg of CO2eq avoided, the equivalent of 28,000 km travelled in a petrol-powered car or a round-trip flight from Paris to New York for one person;
  • 461,760 litres of water saved, or approximately 7,700 showers;
  • 41 kg of waste avoided, which represents, on average, more than three weeks of household waste for a Luxembourgish resident or four weeks of household waste for a French resident.

According to the organisers, the most popular challenges so far have been cigarette butt collection, eco-driving, volunteering for charities, using public transport and vegetarian home cooking.

The teams come mainly from Audun-le-Tiche and Villerupt on the French side of the border and from Esch-sur-Alzette, Sanem and Schifflange in Luxembourg. Among the organisations involved with teams participating in the challenge are: the MJC (youth and cultural centres) of Audun-le-Tiche and Villerupt, the CCAS (community and social services centre) of Villerupt, students from Esch-Belval, engaged citizens and members of collectives, volunteers from Francofolies "Les Grands Rêveurs", employees of the municipality of Sanem, members of the Teranga association and employees of the Communauté Communes Pays Haut Val Alzette (CCPHVA).

An official closing ceremony will take place on Monday 16 June 2025 at 18:30 at Villerupt Town Hall in France. To celebrate this adventure together, a friendly evening is being organised by the ACTE project partners (Transition Minett, GECT Alzette Belval and the partner municipalities of Sanem, Villerupt and Audun-le-Tiche) for all participants. The programme includes an awards ceremony for the winning team and special prizes, a cocktail reception and the opportunity to complete two final challenges to earn points for the teams.

As reported by Transition Minett and ACTE, this challenge is the first step in a broader dynamic of citizen involvement for the ecological transition in the Franco-Luxembourgish territory of Alzette Belval.