ECOTOPIA August 2003 Ukrania

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday June 14, 2003 17:32 by Eyfa - Eyfa ecotopia2003 at eyfa dot org

Eyfa and Green dossier organize and invite you to the Ecotopia 2003 (sostenible community) in Ukrania, from 20 of Agost to 3 of September. With the option to come in a bike tour from Poland.

EYFA (European Youth For(est) Action) and Green Dossier Ukraine want to invite you to Ecotopia 2003 in Ukraine. It will be located in the Carpantian Mountains, in Ivano-Frankivsk region, from the 20th August to the 3rd September with Green Dossier Ukrainian group as host organisation. Ecotopia is the biggest international camp in Europe involved in environmental and social issues. The EYFA network has organised Ecotopia since 13 years ago, moving from one country to another in both Eastern and Western Europe. It is a place to exchange experiences, spread information and enrich one’s knowledge about environmental issues through workshops, debates and art. Ecotopia also attempts to be a functional model of self-sustainable community, non-pollutive, based on consensus decision-making process, egalitarian and just.
Around 200-2000 people have been attending Ecotopia each year, sharing skills and knowledge about a wide range of themes related to environmental problems: climate change, GMOs, organic food, sustainable energies, strategies for actions, alternative media, the role of transnational corporations and the global economic system, global politics, migration, racism and xenophobia, influence on and of people, cultural issues, ... Recently, Ecotopia Romania (2000) focused on ‘Sustainable Communities’, Ecotopia Finland (2001) on ‘Globalisation’, and Ecotopia Ireland (2002) on ‘Conflicts Resolution’.
The main theme of Ecotopia 2003 in Ukraine is ‘Young People and Cultural Perspectives on Human Rights’. Our attempt is to open a discussion on human rights with an international perspective, to exchange experiences and plan strategies of support to different projects and campaigns that are really working to transform social, political and economic conditions. Moreover, we want to arise awareness about what is the social and environmental situation in countries like Ukraine, where it used to be the other side of the Iron Curtain.
If you are interested in participating in Ecotopia you have to fill in as soon as possible an application form that you will find in our web page: http://www.eyfa.org/ecotopia2003.htm
The deadline for the Applications is 1rst of July! For some participants with economical difficulties in attending the gathering there is a limited budget for travel reimbursement. There will also be a participation fee for food and accommodation, but it will be Ecorated, so that we overcome the purchasing power inequalities among different countries and everyone can afford to participate.
The program of Ecotopia strongly depends on you! If you have any knowledge or skills you want to share with others suggest workshops. You can fill in the form that you will find also in our home page.
Do not forget that one of the best ways to reach Ecotopia is the Bike Tour. It is an annual international project for everyone interested in environmentalism and community life, cycling and sustainability. This summer we will cycle for a few weeks through Poland and Ukraine to reach the Ecotopia festival. For subscribing to the biketour: biketour@fz.eco.pl More info at: www.thebiketour.net

To participate in Ecotopia you can also write to: ecotopia2003@eyfa.org
and subscribe to the Ecotopia mailing list going to: https://aseed.antenna.nl/mailman/listinfo/ecotopia2003

The participants from CIS can contact GREEN DOSSIER on Russian: ecoweek@akcecc.kiev.ua, rosemary@ambernet.kiev.ua.