Between 9th – 17th December 2022, 6 participants from Poland took part in YE organized by @mihiyoutho.lv and @coconutwork.org in Riga, Latvia called #Change4Green where the main point was to discover on how to run a more sustainable life, how to travel in a more eco-friendly way.
We learned about sustainability methods in every participants’ countries and dived into the topic of the carbon footprint as well. How much of CO2 we produce daily? How much CO2 we produce while sending an e-mail or buying a tomato? When will be our personal Earth Overshoot Day? For this purpose, we used Footprintcalculator.org which is a fantastic educational tool.
We had many chances to discuss what we think should be changed in our countries, what we regard about today’s eco-activism and how it should be changed to make it more influential. In smaller groups we spoke about tourism and sustainable tourism. We discussed about the productions of goods, how much time, money and carbon footprint it costs for us to drink our favorite tea. And how much from 1 euro of this tea goes to the local farmer. Is it enough? Or should these proportions be changed?
We learned how a Romanian influencer, tomato and a long hot shower are connected together, when it comes to ecology, using the web of life method. On the last day we had a chance to put our knowledge in practice and create a social media campaign. Our reels, posts or even an advents calendar varied from the topic of food waste, through deforestation to fast fashion. They gathered thousands of views and hopefully made at least a small impact.
During free time we had many chances to get to know better participants from Latvia, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Romania, Turkey and Slovakia. We integrated on beautiful Riga’s Christmas market, during city sightseeing. Organizers gave us many opportunities to get to know cultural side of the city as well. This project for sure broadened our horizons and we will never forget the friendships we started there.
