Thank You for the Rain, a film by the Norwegian filmmaker Julia Dahr, which was screened for Uzhgorod student government leaders from the KORZO organization on November 19, 2018, as a part of the 15th Travelling Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, motivated the youth to think not just about the problem of climate change, but also about the ways to solve it, as well as about activism and leadership.
The story of a Kenyan farmer Kisilu, the organizer of a farmer civil movement fighting against the impact of extreme weather, is, according to the students, similar to the situation in the Transcarpathian region. In particular, the president of the 8th School Roman Dranchak compared the film to the deforestation of the Carpathian mountains.
But how could we solve this problem? Oksana Stankevych, an expert in climate change studies, explained to the audience that climate change is irreversible. “The only thing we can do is pause it. A lot depends on each of us. We need to reject the model of economy we used before now; we should make our residential neighborhood as green as possible, employ new approaches in urbanism.”
And what could a young person do? “Save water, sort waste, popularize cycling every day,” noted the high school students.
The young people found the problem of civil activism and leadership very sensitive and familiar. According to Roman Dranchak, many activists often address the problems of illegal and destructive deforestation, illegal exports of wood to the EU. But they often aren’t heard.
The leaders of the student government also talked about their experiences in this sphere. In particular, for the second year already they have been implementing the Youth Without Garbage urban project for all students. It was inspired, in particular, by the theme of last year’s festival, 4 Degrees. The students set important goals: to attract attention to the global problem of hard household waste, to shape an environmentally conscious culture, to explain the need for preserving the environment.
In particular, as a part of the project, the students visited a garbage dump and, in order to achieve natural environmental balance and establish the relationship between humans and nature, they planted the oldest type of tree on Earth, the ginkgo. In addition, the leaders conducted workshops using the “equals to equals” method, as well as monitorings, competitions, environmental quests; they also created a stand about waste sorting.
However, just as the film’s protagonists, the students often encounter the lack of understanding from their classmates, parents, and teachers.
“Kisilu wanted to bring people together. He strove for change, he was one of those who actually saw the problem, but there was a veil in front of everyone else’s eyes. And that is the problem. Until everyone understands what we do here. It’s not easy to be an activist, to see the problem, but at the same time to see the passivity of the people around us,” noted Natalia Savko, the head of the town’s student government.
Maria Symkovych, the moderator of the discussion, the coordinator of the student government and the co-coordinator of the Festival, noted that it was actually hard to be a leader, but we shouldn’t despair, because the fate of others depends on each and every one of us.
Text: Maria Symkovych
Photo: Viktoria Antkevych and Natalia Savko
