On 22 of April, the whole world celebrated Earth Day. For Stefanini Institute it was more than one day of activities of raising awareness and increasing the accountability of individual actions that can affect our planet, it was a caravan of few weeks with smaller or larger workshops.
Together with our partners from Ana si Copiii and SocialXChange, NGOs from Bucharest, working as well in places nearby, that engage beneficiaries from vulnerable groups, we had organized 4 workshops for 110 children and youngsters about sustainability, circular economy and individual daily activities to protect the environment.
On 13, 20 and 21 of April, we have met the kids and youngsters between 3 and 16 years old from Ana si Copiii Association, in Bucharest, Fundeni and Urlati, which are from single-parent families, families with many children, kids raised by grandparents, young parents etc.
On 26 of April, the activity was held inside the Charity Shop SocialXChange with a group of 25 youngsters between 14 and 18 years old, as well with various social backgrounds, from a high school in Bucharest.
Trough games and non-formal activities, the participants discovered how easy it is to become a friend of the environment and they outlined that in their communities, such activities are already part of daily routine, from clothes exchange and using the water in small quantities, until eating from their own yards. The majority of them live in rural areas and they have the possibility to grow their own food.
Moreover, the participants found different ways to imagine a sustainable city and how this would look like, presenting it through theater, drawings or stories, marking the need of protection over the natural resources, such as trees, rivers, but also the harmony between humans and nature. They became as well competitive and try to find the most answers to group debates and to “win” that challenge with proper answers, having riddles about the 8 R’s or resource questions. The activities were adapted for the age of participants and for the size of the group.
The “I too act sustainably” caravan came to a rousing close with a workshop for Stefanini employees who also responded curiously to the challenge to see how we can change our behavior’s to protect the planet as much as possible.