An eсo-friendly lifestyle and a responsible behavior: reduce, reuse, recycle!
84 young people from six EU and EU partner countries implemented “Erasmus +: Youth in Action” Youth Exchanges project “Action in ECO Direction” in 2018, which took place both in Latvia and in Ukraine. The young people in this project united the idea of an ecological and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Ecology, the preservation of the encumbered environment, waste reduction and reuse, environmentally-friendly lifestyles – such issues were discussed by youth exchange. The project was organized and implemented by the Cultural Association”Alternative Reality” together with international partners from six countries: Italy, Armenia, Latvia,Moldova, Ukraine and the Czech Republic
The project took place in two parts. The first round of the project was organized in Latvia,Engure district, Kesterciems. At that, 42 young people discussed ecological problems in different countries and sought joint solutions.
Within the framework of the project, young people created a children’s playground using secondary and reused materials, and organized a theatrical event for local children, including eco-games and promoting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. This nice playground was created with the idea that we should look at waste more economically and more carefully, we should try to use all the resources that we have, instead of neglecting to throw outside and to increase the pollution of the environment.
Many project participants visited Latvia for the first time in their life. Latvia will keep them in mind with the white seaboard sand and magnificent sunrises along the Baltic Sea. Several project participants said they would like to live in such a beautiful place and prevent pollution. The young people appreciated the clean and tidy nature of the Kesterciems beach and inspired the project, saying that going home would continue to care about the environment and ecology.
Carolina Dodon (Moldova): “I am for the first time near the sea I’ve never imagined how beautiful it is. This is a wonderful place, and I enjoy the fact that it is so clean. We are still beginning to think about cleaning up areas in Moldova. When I return home, I definitely want to propose a clean-up project. ”
Andrea D’Alessandro (Italy): “I am participating in the Erasmus + project for the first time, and now I understand how much it helps to increase the perception of life, to start thinking about global issues that I have not thought so far.”
Andrejs Priede (Latvia): “This is my first” Erasmus + “project for me. I got great new friends from abroad and overcome my fear of speaking English. Now I can freely express my thoughts in public presentations and feel safer. I’m close to the ecological problems and I wanted to find out how they are being addressed in other countries. It also succeeded. Of course, I want to continue not only to participate in Erasmus + projects, but also to write and implement them myself. Ideas are already there! “
The second part of the project was held in Ukraine, Sumy, where 42 youth exchange participants organized “upcycling” workshops for 120 school students in Sumy. During the master classes, the students, together with the project participants, learned how to make candlesticks, bags, school wallets and other useful and beautiful things from the secondary materials.
Irina Kurpniece, NGO Cultural Association “Alternative Reality”
