In September the Greek team took part in the Training program “REST_ART - Raising Environmental Sustainability Through Art”. The program involved people from 6 different countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Egypt, Greece, and took place in the historical city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective of the program was to raise awareness of the environmental issues related to climate crisis and how art can contribute to it, through its strong influence. Artworks alert the population to urgent matters, facilitate understanding messages about sustainability, and help mobilize people to fight for this cause. At the beginning we did activities to get to know each other and break the ice in order to create a friendly atmosphere between us. A pleasant and informative was the participation in the city tour activity, by which we learnt a lot about city’s history and its great monuments and landmarks.
The activities implemented helped us to analyze environmental issues, acquire new knowledge, understand the contribution of art, work better in groups, cooperate and, also, practice our communication skills. The hosting organization used a wide range of training tools, as quizzes, debate, presentations, group assignments study visit, interviewing etc., which enabled our participation, cooperation, learning and understanding process. In this program, we have been thinking and raising awareness about how art can have an impact on climate change and discover ways and to combine ecology and art. The variety of non-formal education activities helped us to practice our social skills, to get new ideas and adopt the right green practices.
Our team believes that there was much more room for further information sharing and for more solid knowledge acquiring. We hope that in an upcoming TC program there will be provided more practical solutions and implementations in the the aspect of vital environmental challenges.
Undoubtedly this was an unforgettable experience for our team.“REST_ART” was not only about environmental awareness and art, but also unity, cooperation, common experiences, critical thinking and intercultural exchange. We are very grateful both to the “Local Democracy Agency Mostar” and to «United Societies of Balkans» for this transformative experience. We hope to be given the opportunity to meet again and, of course, to give the chance for more people to participate in corresponding programs.