“I can’t believe that it is so sunny and warm at this time of the year. It is either pure luck, or you all have brought the nice weather to Lithuania in April!,” were the first words of one of the volunteers of Zvejone, a Lithuanian club, which hosted and organized the annual meeting of Young Friends of the Earth Europe (YFoEE) this year.
The event took place in Lapiai village near Klaipeda, the third biggest city. The small complex named By the Spring, with wooden houses, separate waste collection, eco-friendly hygiene products, and mouthwatering vegetarian food is located there. Wonderful forests envelop the village and storks fly over the planes dominating the view – a beautiful place for rest and for work.
My expectations were for a joyful and full of novelties stay. And so it was! For the first time, I happened to be in an environment wholly consisting of foreigners, and I was somewhat nervous that I had to properly present Bulgaria, although one cannot draw conclusions from the contact with only one representative of a country. Eventually, all of us participants were content with each other. The event was oriented rather towards theory than practice, but this did not prevent us from acting like a smooth team, and the unity that we showed was one of the things I liked mostly. Although we did not know each other, everyone behaved like we had been friends for years. There isn’t a better work attitude. The annual meeting reviews the completed activities of YFoEE, and also enrolls new members. A new control and a work group are chosen, which will act by YFoEE strategy in the next year.
What is impressive about YFoEE is that various people are united by the common goal of protecting nature through sharing knowledge and experience. I hope that we in Bulgaria will create an active youth group at Za Zemiata, which will become part of the family of YFoEE. In this way, our capabilities for participation in large-scale events and campaigns will be increasing, and when something is happening everywhere and more people are involved, the result is better. The globalness here has positive character!
I am glad that in August 2014 Za Zemiata will host YFoEE Summer Youth Camp. I expect this international gathering of environmental activists to encourage the establishment of Young Friends of the Earth Bulgaria. I am already part of this community.
You join too!
Za Zemiata (For the Earth) at the annual meeting of Young Friends of the Earth Europe in Lithuania
