Our proposals
1. Mini conference
2. Photo action, competition, exhibition
3. Quizzes
4. Trade fairs
5. Panel discussions, debates,forum theatre
6. Discussion clubs
7. Environmental information desk- Questionnaires
8. Support research information
9. Outdoor activities
To have bigger impact with the action day and also to help you with organising, it is advised to have cooperation with other interested parties (universities, local environmental organisations, social organisations, local governments, etc). They can also help you with ideas for activities best fit to your community.
Mini conference
Themes :
Ø sustainable energy
Ø daily habits, what can be removed ,what can be improved
Ø legislation
You can reach Professors who are studing the climate changes and how this changes affect daily life in terms of economy (agriculture), health (new diseases) , landscape , weather conditions. Also it would be interesting to present the existing legislation in your country and also EU's legislation .
Photo action, competition, exhibition
Images can always say more than words !
In the age of digital cameras it’s not hard to start a photo action , collect them , select best ones and open exhibition . It could also give nice frames . You can have prior long competition period before the Action Day and during it make the exhibition . (eg Find the most beautiful natural place around university campus or Find the most ugly polluted place in town) -> gala and awards in the evening + party (with ecological beer, for example )
Possible topics:
Ø “everyday life”,
Ø “natural beauty”,
Ø ''resources in your area'' ,
Ø ''habits''
Ø etc.
Here keep in mind, that you also need people to judge the photos and resources to print them. One option might be cooperating with university newspaper, and publish the photos there instead.
Or cooperate with a student whose thesis has relative subject, a professor who's interested to help , your local community who might be interested to join an action during June 5th .
Quizzes
Analogically to Jeopardy, Millionaire or other famous quizzes, they can also be organised within the Action Day, concentrating on thematic subjects like global warming , statistics, scarce of natural resourses etc.
The participants can be selected as certain amount from every faculty/university or with open registration, involving, if possible, also teaching staff and university stakeholders. Special rounds can also be about specialities in different faculties/universities to become more aware of the subjects being taught.
Ø For this you have to make extra research and take advise from experts who can guide you about how questions should be possed and which information should be used in order to have a an educative and the same time competitive quizze.
Ø To give motivation, try to do some fundraising for a nice award for the winner(s). Maybe mayor of the town or rector of the university will agree to have dinner with themJ :)
Trade fairs
To give overview about different possibilities to be involved in environment, local student NGOs/NGOs dealing with environment can be gathered in one building, everyone a room or “box” to introduce themselves, have workshops and time for presentation about their activities. Lectures, debates, movie sessions can also be added.
Panel discussions, debates, forum theater
To discuss and find answer to one certain problem or question, representatives of different parties can be asked to come together, each of them with certain point of view that they present in the beginning of discussion and then debate on them. If the subject is selected wisely, it’s good way to get media attention to the Action Day.
Here you can try to illustrate the actions that should be taken by the state and if these actions are actually done . Also legal issues are always open for debates. Is there enough legislation ?
Forum Theater is an other form of interaction . It is used basically to illustrate social problems . You do not have to be a real actor. You just participate in a story which takes place in front of you and you have the possibility to change parts of this story by taking actual part in it .
Discussion clubs
Groups of students discussing about different aspects of environment, defining “Ideal Environment”, brainstorming how to get there, presenting the results to each other, involving experts to explain the background and give feedback etc. This can also be organised in a “science café”-style:
Here would be good idea to assign discussion moderator/facilitator, who could hold
the talk in frames and on track.
Environmental information desk-Questionnaires
During the whole day you could set up a desk in a popular place near your university (eg entrance of library). There you can provide students with information about current environmetal issues of your area ,also distribute materials, ask them to take ecological footprint test etc . Letting passing students fill in questionnaires about different environment-related topics is also an option – just choose the questions that you would like to have answer for.
Support research information
This can be implemented especially in faculties concerning Environmental Management , Resources, Energy . Approach your Professor ,or a student who prepares his thesis on relative issues and cooperate with them in terms of bibliografy , new evidence, statistics.
Outdoor activities
a. cycling
b. tree planting, site cleaning
c. swimming
d. hiking
e. thematic parties
f. ways to make your uni and/or student residence more environmental friendly (organise recycling, organic produts into canteen, energy saving light bulbs into lecture rooms etc) – first evaluate what is possible in your uni, then make it happen! If your antenna has an office, take a critical look at it as well!
g. environmental city rally (find the cheapest organic juice in town, count the pushes in park X, etc) -> awards + party in the evening
h. excursions, study trips, hikes to natural parks, protected areas or polluted sites
NB: If you have some more ideas, please let us know and we can add them here!
This is just to give you idea, how your EDE could be desinged. A lot depends from local factors (amount of possible partners, size and number of universities, enthusiasm of the members of your antenna, etc). Here are possible
