GOF: ´cause we want to change the world not the climate

by Irene Gozzelino

The problem of climate change is, of course, a global problem, but this is not heard and addressed in the same way in the different countries, for different economic needs and development, for more or less marked impact of its consequences, for more pressing priorities. But if some are more "guilty" of the fever of our planet and there is one who is more the victim, the both have a common fate: they are going inexorably toward an era of great changes in the biosphere, with respect to which man, among all living creatures, seems to be most vulnerable. How to manifest the alarm and the will to act? How to communicate in one language, if not made of the same words, made of the same concepts?

The project Grounding Our Future has been carried out for: a period of one year, funded by the European Union within the Youth in Action program, involved young volunteers from Mauritius, Vietnam, India, Italy and Germany and ended October 1, in Rome, at the City of Utopia.

The project took place in several stages: as a first approach, all participants presented their country and their views on climate change over the ten-day seminar in Karnitz, led by experienced staff of KMGNE, at this stage "preparatory" was followed by another, shorter, in Berlin, and later exchanges: each volunteer spent a month in which the host country involved in a GOF is expressed in a kaleidoscope of activities such as awareness campaigns, seminars, riding a bicycle.

The Italian partner is the International Civil Service, whose the person in charge for the national coordination, Roberto Carraro, has kindly responded to some questions:

Why the SCI has decided to participate in the project GOF? What were the aspects of "attractiveness" of the project?

We thought the project with the idea to disprove the stereotype that sustainable practices and respect for the environment are a feature only of the countries of the North. We wanted to pursue a project based on the mutual and horizontally exchange between north and south of the world, to feel the commitment to environmental justice and climate as a factor that unites us rather than divides. Another objective was to remind the world how the South is tragically hit by global warming, although this is mainly caused by the industrialized countries.

How can this type of projects to develop awareness towards environmental issues "burning" of our era?They can do that to the extent that they create real participation, and proximity to a range of issues by young people from all corners of the planet that have been involved in the project and aren’t never be passive spectators. This is what we have always tried Grounding Our Future.

Why do you think that the media products and the organized campaigns in various countries can be effective?

Why do they live the participation of those who created them, making them attractive and real, because they reflect what the project was, as content, such as reports, such as actions on the territory.

For a taste of GOF, The Proposal is the video that you find accompanying this article, for everything else there is a website and a Facebook page.