Gutta Club: Climate is changing. And you?

While the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) was held in Egypt and our friends from the Climate Action Network-International persistently sought effective solutions from government delegations in the field of climate change mitigation, global adaptation and climate finance, the CDN’s Member Organisation the Republican Center “Gutta-Club” also did not stand aside.
From November 5 to November 18, the organisation prepared and held a number of thematic events under the general title “Climate is changing. And you?”, with the support of the largest European network of youth environmental organizations YEE (Youth and Environment Europe), of which Gutta-Club has been a member for more than ten years.

On November 5, a training for young people took place, which was attended by students of the Chisinau lyceums named after I.S. Nechuya-Levitsky and A.P.Chekhov, as well as students of State, Technical, Pedagogical Universities and the Economic Academy. 

Gutta-Club’s expert Irina Belous, PhD student, molecular biologist, presented an up-to-date overview of the climate situation in the world and in Moldova, spoke about the assessment of climate impact, vulnerability factors and risks, as well as about adaptation measures developed specifically for our country. 

Anya Kimakovskaya and Nastya Gordeeva prepared a presentation on the problems of excessive consumption, and also offered the guys to take a test to determine their ecological footprint. The results were so unexpected that the discussion on “How many Planets like Earth will I need if I don’t shorten my eco-footprint” would have lasted until the end of the training, and maybe even longer. In order to have time for everything that we planned, we proposed to move the discussions to the family circle and develop steps to reduce the eco-footprint in each particular family. Think globally – act locally! 

Pavel Kurkin and Alina Sandyuk shared their impressions of a recent trip to Poland, where members of the Gutta-Club team as part of an international consortium developed a climate project, and also visited a waste recycling plant, personally familiarizing themselves with all stages of waste-free production.

Then the role-playing game began. The participants were divided into teams and engaged in the development of climate startups on unusual topics obtained in the process of drawing lots. No one even imagined how unusual)) For example, the use of kinetic energy of swinging trees for street lighting of city streets. Or the secondary use of banana peel as fuel for subcompact transport. The guys laughed at first. Then they were puzzled. And only then the work began to boil) The time had to be extended several times. But when the teams were ready – the originality and thoughtfulness of the approaches, and also the fervor with which all the members of the groups promoted their offspring – could not leave anyone indifferent from the audience. Startup programs were presented by the jury, chaired by businesswoman Olya Sovko. The proposed product had to be evaluated according to the following criteria: the attractiveness of the idea, the amount of funding, the timing of the refund and the beginning of income generation, the number of jobs created, a positive effect on the environment. The jury members conferred for a long time and (just by the time the pizza was delivered), made their reasoned conclusions. As a result, all the teams received various kinds of support, both from business representatives and from donor organizations, the state budget and even the mafia) And also concluded partnership agreements with each other, since it is always more effective to work together.

After handing over certificates of participation (by the way, the certificate is the work of Anya Kimakovskaya), caps and books, a shared photo, the guys did not disperse immediately, they asked how they could become a Gutta-Club volunteer, how to go to trainings and seminars and how to continue studying abroad under the Erasmus Oficiul Erasmus+ Moldova program when the next meeting will be. Some even stayed to watch the rehearsal, which, taking advantage of the opportunity, was held for our teams leaving for Georgia, by professional dancers and volunteers Gutta Constanta Crave and Alina Cebotari.

And the next day Gutta-Club already received letters from parents and teachers, how the guys liked everything and how great it would be if such events were held more often. This is a very important and inspiring result for the entire training preparation team.
“When we met, we asked the participants to answer a simple question: “If you had a goldfish, what would you ask her for?” It turned out that it was not a new iPhone and not good bachelor’s grades (do not underestimate our youth), but something much more valuable – health and longevity to your loved ones, peace and prosperity to our common home – Planet Earth. It is wonderful! But a lot depends on us. From what exactly (here and now) we will do everything to change the world around us for the better. We came to the conclusion that we don’t need a goldfish, because we are our own goldfish. And, without putting it off, we decided to take part in gardening campaigns held in November throughout the Republic. Said and done. On November 12, our guys were already enthusiastically planting trees in the Chisinau park “Alunel”, as well as on the banks of the Dniester River in the village of Malovatoe, Dubossary district. Gutta cavat lapidem! A drop and a stone sharpens!”

And on November 18, the Gutta-Club delegation, consisting of Yaroslav Rudenko, Olya Sovko Arina Manzul, left for Bakuriani (Georgia) to participate in the international seminar “Let’s connect” under the EU Erasmus program, where, together with 24 youth activists from Armenia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine, Turkey and Bulgaria will present the successful experience of the Gutta-Club’s long-term activities, including climate projects, learn interactive forms of work with young people, exchange ideas, and establish partnerships. 

A huge thank you to all the members of PrepTeam Centrul Republican

Gutta-Club says thanks to the prep-team members, the administrations and the teachers of the Chisinau lyceums Theoretical Lyceum Named after I.S. Nechuy-Levitsky, Lyceum named after. Anton Chekhov for the universal support of the initiative of our organization and for the active, caring youth, to our friends and partners from YEE – Youth and Environment Europe, Umbrella, Centrul NaĹŁional de Mediu for productive and sincere cooperation.

MO Direct Support – School of Political Activism Report


Young people from various cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina have attended the event to strengthen their knowledge and skills about political participation.

Furthermore, the professors who have taught classes are academic citizens from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Belgrade:

• Darko Brkan, the president of CA „Why not“
• Dino Sakanović, historian
• Merisa Okanović, President of Youth Movement Revolt
• Predrag Momcilovic, green activist
• Miroslav Zivanovic, professor
• Admir Čavalić, economic analyst
• Faruk Hadžić, economic analyst
• Sunčica Kovačević, an activist
• Asim Šahinpašić, OSCE press team member
• Kemil Bekteši, an artist
​
The themes that have been covered:
​
• The role of the media in democracy
• Social movements in Bosnia and Herzegovina and historical revisionism
• The basics of political economy
• Political economy, common goods and degrowth
• Political compass and values
• Local government
• Civil obey
• Public appearance
• Local initiatives
• Simulation of City Council work


The event took place on 26.07.2021.-02.08.2021. and has lasted for seven days. During that time many themes were presented and practised.


The purpose of the School was to do research most relevant to activism in the context of social movements. Participants were given mechanisms to discover the social structures that influence their origins and survival, resources that movement can use, political opportunities that they can take up, and systems of meaning that enable them to get their message across. Far more relevant to activists are manuals that advise on community organizing, analyzing power structures, group dynamics, decision making, fundraising, and conflict resolution. All of these groups were involved in the School of political activism.

For the School, the City of Tuzla financially supported the School of political activism especially in the part called Simulation of City Council Work. The city of Tuzla hosted participants and Revolt members in the City Hall to independently organize the Simulation of City Council Work.

The School was financially supported by the City of Tuzla, CDNEE and NED. (National Endowment).

This School of political activism resulted in:

  • the contribution of 20 young people from all over the country,
  • increased communication with academics and students,
  • Cooperation with engaged academics and organizations
  • Artistic photos of participants that tackled problems from the local community through public space
  • Publication of the photos (in the progress of making)
  • Photo exhibition from participants photos at Youth Festival Tuzla 2021
  • Written local initiatives from participants


Media coverage:
TV show-School of political activism by CAT BiH
TV news interview at RTV7

AYG organise General Assembly and a Climate protest

Tirana / Albania

14.11.2020

Albanian Young Greens organized a series of activities on 14th November with the following theme: “Climate is changing, our future is being destroyed”.

“For us as young people, the problem of climate change must be resolved as soon as possible as it seriously threatens our lives and the future. This is our task, our challenge, for which time is calling us. Although we are living in an unusual situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can think ahead to tackle the climate crisis, making the right choices to move on the right path towards progress and green policy development.


The AYG Assembly was held in the spirit of a greater commitment of young people to the challenge of climate change. During the Assembly a variety of sessions took place, filled with constructive debates about environmental, social, green policies, schooling and youth employment.


The involvement of young people in politics was stressed out, the leadership of the organization and the space they should have in the leading and decision-making structures of the Green Party.
The presence of young people from all branches of the Youth Forum, local councilors, as well as representatives of the Albanian Greens, created a vivid space for fruitful debate by sharing experiences with young people and exchanging ideas for strengthening and development of the green youth movement in Albania.


The General Assembly adopted a number of important political documents and resolutions.
“Let us all act together now to protect the environment and the climate”: this resolution calls for the massive action of the climate movement as a necessity to raise awareness of decision-makers to act quickly.
The General Assembly also elected new leadership. The two co-chair persons are Mrs. Ambra Durro and Mr. Brahim Demi.
Mr. Brahim Demi is our councilor in the local parliament. He also represents the green voice in the municipal council of the city of Lezha.

The green weekend was finalised with the Climate protest organized by members of the AYG.

The message of this protest was as following: The movement known as “Fridays for Future” must be spread across the country as a call for urgent action against climate change”.

Green Youth of Ukraine organizes the camp “Green Youth – Green City”

Green Youth of Ukraine, one of CDN member organizations, organized the Green camp called “Green Youth – Green city” during 16-30 October in Kyiv.

The aim of the camp is to mobilize and involve young greens of Ukraine into politics. During the camp, a lot of sessions addressed different challenges that young people face on their way to enter the political landscape in Ukraine.

During the camp, the greens brainstormed on different tools for counter-acting these challenges. The whole camp was divided into three stages:

1- The first training was focused on the role of the Greens in addressing the environmental challenges and many other issues at stake in Ukraine.

2- the second stage was pretty smooth and was organized outdoor. The Greens of Ukraine went for a bike ride and discussed how to make the green voice more heard in politics.

3- the last stage was focused on political campaigning for the greens during elections and participation in the local governance. This part was facilitated by trainers in the form of a role-play game of green candidates during the election campaign.

Solidarity with feminist activists attacked from the police of Azerbaijan!

Screenshot taken from CNN video report

Last week was a turbulent one for feminists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. The latest developments in the country show the escalation of the crackdown on human rights activists, journalists and feminists.

Given the repressive context, there were two protests which took place on 19th and 20th of October in central Baku.

The first day of protest was against the imprisonment of political prisoners, economical injustice and corruption. The day after was a protest against gender-based violence and femicide. Among the activists attacked, there were members of CDN’s Member Organisation, who joined the second protests over women’s rights and demanded the ratification of Istanbul convention.

The attacks were recorded and the videos were disseminated and went viral on social networks. These incidents were condemned by several international bodies, including Council of Europe human rights commissioner, Dunja Mijatović

Along with the attacks, polices forces cordoned off the protesters, some metro stations were stopped from operating, and Internet blackout was reported at some spots of the protest. 

On behalf of CDN EC, we show solidarity with all protesters in Baku fighting under hostile environment against gender-based violence and in the shrinking spaces of civil society activists.

Stay strong! You are not alone <3

CDN Webinar “Reflections on Climate strikes”

In the past months, we have witnessed young people taking over the streets throughout the world to demand climate justice.

Climate Strikes mobilized more than 1.5 million youth around the globe and draw significant attention to the issue at stake.

Nonetheless, we have also observed that there is a significant divide between success of Climate Strike actions in the West and Eastern European countries.

With this webinar, CDN aims to reflect on the experiences and thoughts from its MOs and POs with regard to existing Climate Strike divide.

Also, we would like to grasp this opportunity to provide a space to our friends for sharing major takeaways from their Climate Strike experiences.

MIL NETWORK: “Have Your Say!” training

On 19 and 20 December MIL NETWORK  organised the “Have Your Say!” training in Baku.  The training addressed democratic citizenship, youth participation and activism. The program was designed within COMPASS – Long-term training course on human rights education and democratic citizenship for youth multipliers and trainers from Azerbaijan – that is organised by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Continue reading

Young Cyprus Greens: Medical Cannabis

Since 2013 Young Cyprus Greens have organized a series of information sessions in all cities in Cyprus, in order to inform and discuss with the general public the use of cannabis in medicine and its beneficial impact on different diseases (e.g. cancer). The Young Cyprus Greens put effort so in every session to have a different panel of speakers such as doctors, lawyers, Members of the Parliament and people who are already working with medical cannabis such as doctors and researchers from abroad. Continue reading

Hungary’s FUTURE: A Biannual Update

Dear Friends,

This semester has been incredibly busy for our organisation. The populist Orban government will not give us a chance to rest.

After we elected our new EC in March, the Hungarian government tried to close the Central Europen University (CEU). A huge crowd took to the streets of Budapest day by day, and finally the government retreated. It was our duty to participate in these demonstrations.

Also we attended the Global Greens’ and Global Young Greens’ Congress in Liverpool. It was really nice to see that green ideology can be found all over the planet. Continue reading