The Project "ICT - SOS for the environment" was inspired by a document developed by the EC titled A "European Green Deal" which is to enable Europeans to benefit from a sustainable ecological transformation. It emphasizes the special role of the citizen who must become the creator of changes for sustainable development. Today, we are increasingly more aware that it is from civic attitudes and involvement in activities with a social dimension, such as environmental protection, climate change and responsible consumption, whether the world (civilization) can cope with the ecological crisis. The project is a joint initiative of partnerships among non-governmental organizations from Poland - AgriNatura Foundation, Hungary - Védegylet Egyesület, Moldova - ProEntrense and the environmental advisory office Sabine Bruckmann from Germany. Each partner deals with non-formal and informal education for adult learners on topics relevant to eco-development, including environmental protection, climate change, and civil society. The main group of recipients of the implemented projects are inhabitants of rural areas. The partners' own analyzes and official research data have shown that one of the most important and more difficult ecological problems in these regions is waste, and one of the reasons for this is the low ecological awareness of the region’s inhabitants, especially of the elderly. The partnership will develop educational content that will raise their level of knowledge on topics related to the problem of waste, waste management, sorting and, above all, minimization. This knowledge will be related to knowledge about social and civic competences. It is necessary, especially at the level of local communities, which (according to sociological research) are more passive in civic attitudes. The data also shows that ICT, even for people 60+, is increasingly becoming a tool used in everyday life to communicate. Therefore, it can also be useful for finding information or reacting to irregularities. The partnership, based on its experience and in-depth knowledge about the situations in its respective countries, will develop educational content adequate to the needs of each country, which will complement the knowledge of educators / trainers further transferred to the target group - local rural communities in partner countries, in particular people 55+. Project partners came to the conclusion that international exchange of experience, learning about the situation and needs of other countries, learning about the best solutions will facilitate understanding that garbage is a global problem, but that its solution depends on local activities, decisions and choices of each citizen. Project milestones are international meetings (4 in total, one in each partner's country), which aim to exchange experiences, know-how, learn best practices and work on results. At the local level, each partner will conduct workshops using the project’s results. It is estimated that a total of 295 people will participate in them. A wide audience will be achieved through websites, social media, cooperation networks and participation of partners in events related to the project topic. The final results of the project will be: 1. Two Guides: "Waste is a personal factor - choices and decisions to minimize / segregate - ICT tool for monitoring garbage" and "Waste is an economic / political / social factor - ICT as a tool for participation in public life" 2. Educational video – composting : duty and benefits 3.Database of best practices 4. Well-established international partnership 5. Development of a follow up project by the partners Guidebooks, best practices database (pdf) and educational videos will be posted on the partners' websites (in the language of the partners) and available to interested parties. They will be included in the partners' curriculum, used in training sessions or lectures. Experts, trainers and educators conducting trainings will participate in the project activities, the latter will include the results developed during the project (guides, databases, video) in their educational offers. Depending on the situation and possibilities, the partnership will use ICT in organizing meetings and education in a virtual way (zoom, Google sites) preparing few sessions and also study visits online. Educational activities will be 'lifelong learning'. A lasting effect of the project will be an increased knowledge of the target group on topics related to competences and civic attitudes in connection with the issue of waste management and reduction, but also an increased level of knowledge and skills of the partnering organizations and an extensive network of contacts and cooperation. All results in English and the languages of the partners will be published on the partners' websites and on the Erasmus + Project Results Platform and will be available to the public.
The goals: 1. increase recipients' knowledge about the problem of waste, its segregation and, above all, its minimization - through educational content developed by the partnership. 2. increase awareness that the recovery from the environmental crisis depends on civic attitudes and commitment to environmental and climate protection and responsible consumption. 3. increase knowledge of practical solutions, proposed and carried out by ordinary citizens, which everyone can duplicate in their environment, place of residence, their own home. 4. Achieve higher competence (language, cooperation) and substantive knowledge of project partners and establish transnational contacts with organizations, institutions, experts. The objectives were: 1. exchange of knowledge and experience to learn about new solutions and difficult situations related to waste. 2. to acquaint the target groups (primarily rural residents) with the opportunities offered by ICT in accessing information on, for example, the composition of plastic, ongoing waste cleanup campaigns, joining various initiatives (e.g., compost communities) or food waste-free and food-sharing initiatives.
Garbage is omni-present: we see it in the streets, in forests and rivers, in fields; it poisons the soil, the waters, the air. While we have been talking about this issue for years, gigantic islands of garbage in oceans and giant landfills have formed, and multi-billion dollar businesses have been profiting from waste. Education about garbage is increasing, but so is the amount of garbage. We talk mostly about the "end of the pipe", much less about the need to minimize. Minimization can only be achieved through grassroots, local action, awareness, responsibility and citizen involvement. The partners targeted local communities where knowledge of waste handling is low. The idea was to show methods of minimization, the possibility of reusing them or preventing food waste. The partners included ICT elements in the content conveyed, which can be a source of information or a method of building joint actions, e.g. creating communities or joining clean-up actions or food distribution. The project addressed the urgent need to change the daily behavior of citizens. To give up consumerism, to be able to determine their real needs and to understand that the decisions made today determine the quality of life of future generations.