As VAGEAD, we want to raise public awareness and create a meaningful dialogue by involving many young people in our national and international project activities in order to reduce this pollution in Van City. In this context, we first started this project to clean the shores of Lake Van, and then we decided to expand our activities to awareness raising activities in schools, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and on the streets. By implementing these activities, we reach as many young people as possible and include them in this solidarity cycle, and children are equipped with the awareness of the clean environment we have created in the city.

 

During garbage collection in the city, young people see the potential in garbage. They have developed many business ideas that can be done using garbage. Therefore, we have seen that garbage collection improves the entrepreneurial skills of the volunteers. Our youth workers encourage them to develop more ideas so that they can be more beneficial to their entrepreneurial spirit. During environmental activities, young people decide which part of the coast to clean and collect garbage, depending on the type. Thus, we saw that the self-confidence of young individuals improved.

 

In order to make garbage collection activities more fun and enjoyable, we organize a competition among volunteers to create the most creative figures using the garbage at each end of the activity day. We have seen many times that this part of the event develops the art skills of the young people, as we have seen so many creative and fun shapes so far.

 

In addition to garbage collection and tree planting activities, young volunteers organize workshops on circular economy, sustainability, eco-understanding, upcycling, recycling and critical consumption for schools, university students and the disabled. During these activities, we aim to reduce waste, reuse resources and recycle materials.

 

Besides face-to-face events, our young volunteers create some digital campaigns for the environment to bring out their creative content creation skills in the environmental field and reach much more people than face-to-face events.

 

Through these volunteer activities, we encourage young people and local people about environmental sustainability and responsibility. We will not only promote sustainable and environmentally friendly practices to local people and youth, but we will also integrate these activities into our daily activities at VAGEAD. While designing each volunteering activity, we ensure that these activities are implemented with an environmentally friendly approach.