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Fellowship Programme

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enWAR_mental: Information Campaign of the War Impact on the Ecosystems in Ukraine

Fellowship Summary: Enhance the awareness of the war impact on the environment among Ukrainian students by implementing the information campaign “enWAR_mental”.

Nataliia Yaroshenko has been active in civil society since 2015.  Her early years of activism were mostly focused on supporting cultural events, such as the Sumy Rock Fest, but then she experienced the ‘Active Citizen’ programme of the British Council in Ukraine and turned her attention to mobilizing youngsters to collaborate on community development projects.

As a result of this activism Nataliia became the Coordinator of the ‘School of City Ambassadors’ in her home city of Sumy in Ukraine.  But this isn’t her only ambassadorial connection as in 2021 she also joined the ranks of the Young European Ambassadors programme.

“As I’m a biologist the next obvious step for me was to unite my civic activism with my passion for the environment. So, with a team of like-minded colleagues, I ran a campaign to promote the concept of the Green Office. This was a great way to help people in Sumy to make the connection between taking local actions and the global movement to protect the environment”

In being awarded a 2021 Civil Society Fellowship, Nataliia was ready to further her journey of finding creative methods for having young people engage in environmental issue, when the Russians invaded Ukraine and her world turned upside down.  But Nataliia was not perturbed.  She recognized the need to stimulate a dialogue about the impact of war on the environment and her Fellowship shifted its emphasis to become the ‘enWAR_mental’ initiative.

“‘enWAR_mental is all about helping the younger generation understand that the damage to our environment by war will not only have long-lasting effects but that the damage is wide-reaching. Bombs falling on fields and forests in Ukraine will eventually also impact on ecosystems outside of Ukraine. We need to help students and youth understand the issues and the long term consequences, and to build their capacities to advocate for this understanding within their communities.”

Nataliia’s Fellowship has had a strong focus on combining creative talents with scientific evidence and documentation.  She has mobilized a team to research, design, and create comic strips that raise awareness to the environmental damage of war.  “Such graphics are not only a great way to engage with young people, but they also help to make the difficult topic more digestible”.

She also produced short videos featuring young activists from other countries previously impacted by war, such as Kosovo and Georgia, and other posts on the enWAR_mental Instagram pages.  A competition for younger students across Ukraine resulted in more than 50 posters being created and submitted to enWAR_mental, demonstrating a range of perspectives of how young people see the war impacting on their local environment.  All the visuals on Instagram have helped to grow enWAR_mental’s followers.  “Just last week we saw that we attracted views from about 1,500 new visitors and we see the rise in searches around #environment#war.

Nataliia is convinced that the combination of science and creativity is the key to enWAR_mental’s success.  “We are an initiative which has given tools, in the form of comic strips and videos, to our communities of young people and they are now using them to snowball the advocacy efforts”.

Nataliia also reflected on the personal impact of her Fellowship: “it has helped me through a very traumatic time and the volunteers who have helped me have grown in confidence.  Together we are going to continue the work of enWAR_mental”

enWAR_mental Comics in English

 

Country Ukraine
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Zero Waste Communities

The project aimed to develop a culture of waste management in Armenia through training and environmental campaigns. To achieve the latter objectives, Vahan organized a number of educational, community outreach and dialogue-building activities.  First, he held intensive one-day training in four Armenian regions of Shirak, Tavush, Gegharkunik, and Kotayk. Then, to promote zero waste principles, Vahan engaged partner organizations from Gyumri (Youth Initiative Center), Dilijan (Youth Cooperation Center), Gegharkunik (Ajdahak Environmental Center), and Yerevan (Armenian Progressive Youth) and installed zero-waste stations in their offices under the guaranteed control. Following this, the project team organized a massive cleanup and recycling campaign in Yerevan and other municipalities. Last but not least, to highlight the project deliverables, Vahan held the final conference in Yerevan involving local and international experts, local youth, civil society and municipality representatives to discuss the ecological challenges and their mitigation measures.

The project enhanced the mindset of 150 young people from the Armenian regions and up to 100 youngsters in Yerevan on waste management and engaged the local NGOs. Also, through installing four waste sorting bins, the action encouraged the local communities to separate waste and recycle it on a regular basis. As a result of the cleanup campaigns, 5 tons of sorted waste were accumulated from landfills and sent to recycling within 3 months. Besides, the project served as a bridge for the civil society organizations, local municipalities and small recycling enterprises and urged them to collaborate in terms of waste management.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1253256278211038

Country Armenia
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Bicycle-Friendly Business Certification Programme

The project aimed to design and launch a Bike-Friendly Certification Programme in Kyiv, Ukraine. Also, Marianna intended to check whether tourist services such as gastronomy, accommodation, campsites, tourist attractions, or shops in Kyiv had stores, basic repair tools, or information about cycling in the region. To achieve the latter objective, she implemented the action through 3 stages. First, Marianna collected and analyzed information from Germany (ADFC German Bicycle Club) and France (FUB – French Federation of Bicycle Users). Then, she created a website with promo video, and exclusive Bike-Friendly Certificates. The program was designed with two-level certificates – Green (basic) and Gold (advanced).  At the final stage of the project, Marianna held a final conference engaging business companies and local authorities, including the Tourism Department of the Kyiv City Administration, media representatives, cyclists, and other interested parties.  As a result, first bicycle-friendly companies (cafés, restaurants, business centers, and even a law firm) were awarded the programme certificates at the press-briefing. Afterwards, the Program developed an exclusive Orange Certificate for non-profit organizations, such as theatres, libraries etc.

The action launched the first bicycle-friendly business certification system in Ukraine. Through the program website and other visibility materials, the program promoted the most socially responsible partner companies. The Program sustainability tool is a website, where users can access all relevant information such as conditions of the Program, rules for participation, types of certificates, map with company location etc. Also, the action produced 2 videos about the program. The Project developed three certificates: Green award was given to the companies with the basic parking services and stores for the bicycles when the Gold certificate was granted to the enterprises with advanced facilities, such as toolkit box for repair work, maps with bicycle infrastructure, etc.; the Orange was designed for the non-profit organizations. The final conference served as a platform to facilitate collaboration among governmental agencies, businesses, and other NGOs. The action improved Marianna’s professional skills; during her internship at the ADFC German Bicycle Club Berlin, she learned how to design and launch the certification program while the traineeship at the French Federation of Bicycle Users (Strasbourg) was an opportunity to extend her international contacts.  Thus, having launched the final press-conference, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine – Lev Partschladze actively supported the Project.

Country Ukraine
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Energy efficiency for youth for sustainable future

The project Energy Efficiency Every Day aimed to raise awareness of young people in the middle schools on everyday energy-efficient behavior. To do so, Mykola organized three workshops within the pilot educational project “New Energy” for the different target audiences. The first workshop on Energy Efficiency, Practical Skills in Energy-Efficient Behavior in Everyday Life was delivered to elementary school students. It was followed by the second workshop for the secondary school student on the topic of Renewable Energy – the Main Measures of Energy Efficiency. Finally, the last two workshops on  How to Calculate the Quantity of Lighting Required in the House – Practical Tips were conducted at the gymnasiums/lyceumsAlong with educational activities, Mykola organized a round table to discuss the sustainability and significance of the New Energy pilot programs. Finally, he spent 3 weeks at the local non-profit organization Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR Kyiv) to acquire practical experience and improve skills in communication and advocacy.

The action raised awareness of more than 100 students in energy efficiency and sustainability. Given that, interactive workshops enhanced young people’s understanding of everyday energy-efficient behavior following best European practices. Therefore, the project facilitated collaboration among the school administration, teachers, and the local authorities for future collaboration, as the roundtable initiated professional discussions on the “New Energy” pilot program and scientific center. The internship at the RPR Kyiv built capacity for Mykola, as he improved project management skills and extended his networks with sectoral experts, policymakers, and government officials.

Country Ukraine
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Safe Playground for Your Kids and Mine

The project: Safe Playground for Your Kids and Mine was an awareness-raising initiative promoting the public, particularly young women’s participation in decision-making concerning children’s outdoor playgrounds. To raise the voice of the parents from Yerevan, Mari organized training and workshops that resulted in developing a list of recommendations for the local decision-makers. In parallel with the training, the project monitored and assessed the conditions of the local playgrounds, including the study of heavy metals in soil and sanitary-bacterial research. Based on the above data, the field experts and civil society organizations elaborated on the document and shared it with the public officials. To reach broader audiences, Mari communicated the project deliverables via different media tools, such as radio podcasts, articles, and promo videos.

The project produced a handbook analyzing the playground conditions in Yerevan. Thus, Mari created a database showing the compatibility of the municipal playgrounds with the international standards. Through the training and workshops, the project informed more than 500 parents about playground issues and advocated their civic rights to demand better municipal infrastructure. The collaborative meetings with the local authorities improved equitable management and civic participation as well as public dialogue between the local administration and the community.

Project in media:

Children at Risk: Most Yerevan’s Playgrounds Found Unsafe, hetq.am

Unsafe Heavy Metal Levels Found in Yerevan Playgrounds, hetq.am

Միշտ չէ, որ աղբը աղբ է, hhpress.am

Radio- program “Yerevan”, Republic radio (from 1:00)

Country Armenia
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Promoting for Cycling as a Transport in Tbilisi

The project aimed to promote cycling as popular transportation in Tbilisi. To achieve that, Lika organized two large-scale cycling marches in the city center during the Christmas holidays. The volunteers actively distributed the information leaflets on safe transportation at both events. All participants received safety accessories as the necessary attribute for safe cycling. Both campaigns engaged influencers, activists, local authorities and media representatives. Apart from the community outreach activities, Lika held collaborative roundtables with the local decision-makers from the Tbilisi City Hall. To enhance the cycling environment in the city, policy recommendations were shared with the local authorities.

Through the offline meetings and campaigns, the project increased public awareness of safe cycling in the city. Thus, the civic activists shared their perspectives about road safety and infrastructure with the local government. Apart from the promotion of cycling as sustainable transportation, the project delivered outstanding institutional changes. Tbilisi City Hall just initiated a new transport policy that puts sustainable mobility on top of the political agenda. The latter includes the safe cycling regulations in the city.

 

Country Georgia
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