We Want Peace…

September 5, 2012January 6, 2014Leave a comment

To finish up-dating you about the latest news of Vivamos el Bosque, I would like to share with you my experience at the United Nations Alliance for Civilizations (UNAOC) Summer School at Coimbra, Portugal!!

I was invited to participate at the UNAOC summer school held on August 5-13th in Portugal. I might admit I was lucky to be there and it has really been one of the most important experiences I had in my life so far. UNAOC promotes World peace, dialogue and understanding by presenting and uniting youth’s different perspectives and backgrounds. 135 youth were invited to participate, and Vivamos el Bosque was selected as part of the Education for Intercultural Dialogue workshop. I presented the biocentric foundation of Vivamos el Bosque and explained how environmnental education can promote dialogue and understanding in a multicultural and plurinational setting like Ecuador. After the presentation, we had a great discussion about the topic and I receive good feedbacks, and made some important contacts interested in contributing with Vivamos el Bosque initiative 🙂

I was already really happy with everything in Portugal. I met Baker, my co-fellow from Uganda and then, I found out that Florian and Katherin from D&F Academy, Germany were giving a talk and workshop at UNAOC! it was lovely to meet them and spend some time with them. It is always good to have my D&F family close!

That is all for now!!! keep checking the blog so you don’t miss any news from Vivamos el Bosque!

I am posting here a video of the 3rd UNAOC Summer School so you can have a better idea of the event! Enjoy…

Considering the last eventS in Libia, Youth speak out asking for peace!

The Web of Life World Tour: Ecuador

September 5, 2012January 6, 2014Leave a comment

Do you remember what is “The Web of Life world Tour? ” mmmmmm… nop? a quick reminder for everybody. While in Germany at D&F Academy, the 13 fellows (including myself) of the Engage in Conservation Project mentored by Jane Goodall, organized the “The Web Of Life World Tour: Hamburg” to share our findings from collaborating at D&F Academy and to engage in an open exchange with guests from our host city Hamburg. We aimed to raise questions about the nature of the Web of Life and what can be done to preserve and restore it worldwide. We dreamed of organizing the Web of Life in our countries and encourage all Roots & Shoots groups to do the same. That is how The Web of Life World Tour: Ecuador was born. I decided to organize with the community of El Malton an event on the 27th of July 2012 to offer a variety of activities to engage community members and guests in biodiversity conservation, providing a space to discover the community’s needs and assets and meet youth talents. A traditional community fair provided a framework for many conversations and allowed guests to interact with community members and understand their social and economic situation. There we had the chance to taste delicious traditional snacks from the area, including pineapple mermelade, sugar cane syrup, home made cookies, green plantain chips and more.

Then, we all had the chance to experience the unique ambiance created by the theatrical performance of the Council of All Beings, which was hosted by children from the school of El Maltón. Children represented many animals from the Otonga forest and speak out from their perspective. They shared their concerns with their human fellows.

The bees, the armadillo, the golden beetle, the frog and many more raise their voice during the event.
Finally, to close The Web of Life World Tour: Ecuador, a professional group of acrobates and theatre performers, engaged everybody in a highly interactive discussion about biodiversity conservation.

Childen, youth and adults shared a beautiful moment and committed to protect the Otonga cloud forest. People live the forest, respect the forest and help each other to build a better future for their families.

Thank you to all Vivamos al Bosque Team, Giovanni Onore and to Otonga Foundation for their support! It was an unforgettable day 😉

Time time time to catch up! Photography workshop 1

September 5, 2012April 6, 2018Leave a comment

I can finally take a deep breath and share with you all about the last two months of Vivamos el Bosque! July and August have been very intense, busy and really great for the project!

As planned… Vivamos el Bosque team has organized and completed successfully its first photography workshop in collaboration with our friends from Tropical Herping. From July 24th to July 29th, 11 participants received 6 hours of theory in Quito about the basics of photography; and they spent two days in the Cloud Forest, where they discovered the magic of the Otonga Forest and had the chance to share a special time with the community of El Maltón. It was a pleasure for me to receive 9 participants from Quito and two special guests from Chile that were travelling in Ecuador when they found out about the workshop. Thank you very much to all the participants, the instructors and our friend and volunteer Celina Perez-Beck for getting involved with Vivamos el Bosque fundraising activities.

The photography workshop had three main objectives. To raise awareness about the importance of protecting the cloud forest in Ecuador; to engage more people in biodiversity conservation through Vivamos el Bosque and to fundraise for the project. I am glad that our 11 participants had the chance to learn from the experts about nature photography while getting to know about Vivamos el Bosque initiative and its close connection with the communities surrounding the otonga cloud forest.

Thank you to all of you for your support and keep in mind that more workshops are coming soon!!

Here, a picture taken by one of our participants, Alejandro Miranda.