Finland is an attractive country for asylum seekers and refugees because of its reputed human rights records and its wealth, which is similar to other northern European countries such as Norway and Sweden. While most of the asylum seekers in Portugal are transferred due to Dublin II regulations, it’s not as attractive to asylum seekers in the current economic situation. Dublin II regulation is a signed regulation among Schengen agreement countries to identify as quickly as possible the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application, and to prevent abuse of asylum procedures.

Schengen space includes all European Union countries (excluding the UK and Ireland), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The main article in the Schengen agreement is to abolish the borders between the signed countries and strengthen the outer borders with nonmember countries.

In Finland, the asylum seekers stay in a reception center managed by the Finnish Red Cross after submitting the asylum application in the police station or to the border police. Usually the police check the asylum seeker’s luggage, mobile phone, computer and wallet. The main reason for checking it is to try to find the route that was used by the asylum seeker to reach the country.

Most of the asylum seekers hide their passports and money and destroy any receipts that would show that they’ve bought anything from Schengen space. This is to avoid being deported to the first country that they passed into within the Schengen area according to Dublin II regulations.

All these attempts to hide information would not work if they had finger prints for visa applications or for any other reason within Schengen space. Also, Dublin II regulation states that if the applicant has a visa or residency permit from any Schengen country, that country would be responsible for his asylum application if he had not been there.  In most of the Schengen countries’ embassies around the world, the applicant of tourism or business visa must do finger printing at the embassy itself. Also, in most European Airports, sometimes the immigration officer decides to take the fingerprints, especially if passengers are from countries that have a large number of refugees.

If the asylum seeker gives his passport to authorities in Finland, they will hold it while studying his asylum application. While in Portugal, the passport will remain with him.

While checking the bags the police would take the initial feedback from the asylum seeker and they will search in the Eurodac system, which is a European computer system created to double check if the asylum seeker applied in other Schengen and if he had committed any crime in Europe. The finger printing in Finland is fully computerized, while in Portugal they still use ink fingerprinting for the application and ID preparation.

Also, the police count the money that might be with the asylum seeker so the Finnish Red Cross constants can count the reception allowance for every asylum seeker per month. This allowance is given to the asylum seeker to cover his food, transportation and other essential things for living.

In Finland the allowance is 10 euros per day, and they don’t give one penny to the asylum seeker, even for medication, before confirming that the money with him is accounted for. The payment is given monthly.

In Portugal they follow the same procedure, except for money and baggage, mobile, computer and mobile checking. The allowance is 150 euros per month with some support of food; also, they cover all medical expenses. The allowance is paid on the first Thursday of each month by the dedicated social assistance workers.

The reception center in Portugal is managed by the Conselho Português para os Refugiados (CPR), or Portuguese Refugee Council, which is a Non-government organization (NGO) that is exclusively NGO dedicated to the support of refugees and asylum-seekers in Portugal.

Some of the food that is given by CPR to the asylum seekers and refugees is either expired or about to expire in a few days; most of the food is donated either by the nearby supermarket to the CPR or some other Non-government organizations. When Toonari Post asked one of the members of the CPR social assistance program [her name is reserved] about the reason for providing expired food, the answer was that everyone is able to decide whether the food is suitable to consume or not. Nevertheless, some asylum seekers are not educated enough to read the expiration date on the food.

Another strange procedure in CPR is that they don’t give an independent room to any person without hassle. For example, on the eve of December 29, 2012, one vigilant employee switched off the internet from the main router without informing the person who was talking to his family online. When the resident asked him to keep it for personal reasons, the employee refused to follow his request. The resident decided to watch television in the living room to civilly protest the aggressive Vigilant. After some minutes, three policemen came to the CPR and spoke in Portuguese. When the resident asked them either to speak in English or to bring an interpreter they assaulted the resident using their hands and the police stick. They took him to the police station to continue to beat him for three hours, then returned him to the CPR to sleep in his room. The resident went to the hospital the next day to take the proper treatment and to make a report so he could press charges against the policemen and the original employee. Other employees tried to convince him to withdraw the case from the court and promised the independent room. He took the room but refused to withdraw the case.

The majority of the asylum seekers are, in both countries, coming from Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Macedonia and Iran. Some of them come from other countries. The political and the humanitarian are among the top reasons for applying for asylum while some others are coming for economic or family reasons.

This compression is done according to the personal experience of one Toonari Post writer who applied for asylum in Finland, then was transferred to Portugal due to Dublin II regulation.

Image Courtesy : Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

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Alexander Laszlo is co-founder and President of Syntony Quest and former Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE- ITESM) located in Mexico. He was recently elected President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). He has also worked at UNESCO and for the U.S. Department of Education. He has been Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and the European University Institute. In addition to being the author of multiple book and journal articles, he is also a 5th Degree Black Belt in Korean Karate. This is part two of an exclusive Toonari Post interview, find the first part here.

TP: How do you believe that virtual education is transforming the world?                               

AL: I believe that universities and educational systems which do not keep up to date with current technology enhanced Interactive systems will be left behind. Education should encourage a dynamic play with creating knowledge and not only memorizing what is already known, because memorizing what we already know is not going to provide solutions to the current challenges faced by humanity. These challenges require a new paradigm, a new way of understanding. It’s not about learning and applying the models of last century; we have seen that these models do not work; we need people to develop their own response to their realities in which they live.

This is the purpose of Giordano Bruno; to create perspective. Take Facebook, for example. People use it but mainly for social pursuits. How can we create an education system that works like Facebook in which students share their learning with others and with a group of friends, and so among them discuss, comment, share extra resources and in this way go into an enriching conversation of shared understand on any particular topic?

So really, it’s like creating an education system based on this type of model, which is today one of the most widely used type of interaction. As I say, education systems that don’t use it will stay stuck in the past.

TP: What is the holistic paradigm?

AL: The idea of the holistic paradigm is not seeing the world in a fragmented way. For example, here in California, where I live, I need to see how to get clean water, the same as anyone anywhere else in the world. One solution would be to use all the water that falls from the mountains for irrigation, or we could also get it from our aquifers.

Now, if we don’t proceed with a perspective that considers the impacts of using water-intensive agricultural practices, then we are acting badly. We need to create a solution that allows the aquifers to be restored and regenerated. That’s the holistic way of understanding the secondary and tertiary impacts, and more so to really understand the interdependence of all living systems as the non-living systems, that also sustain life, as is the case of climatic water cycles.

This is the perspective and sensitivity that we want to foster among students, because once we understand that everything is interconnected, we see that nothing is only a problem from a technical perspective, as this type of thinking usually creates more problems [than] it resolves. So the idea is to create a system of solutions, not just a one-dimensional solution that could be purely technological or economic. Really, a set of solutions involves seeing and understanding dynamic and interactive patterns; once you understand a little bit and have developed sensitivity for seeing how these complex adaptive systems are intertwined with each other, you can start creating a new dialogue with nature, society, future generations, our ancestors and yourself. In this way, we create a flow of abundance without making the mistake of trying to maximize our return on investment, which is a way of addressing a context in only a myopic way.

TP: Recently you have been elected President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). What are your expectations in this new position?

AL: This organization was founded in 1954 and now has had a total of 56 annual conferences. My job as President is to create an international event that represents the emerging direction of systems science, which also includes human science.

I have chosen a theme for this year which is aimed at moving toward a systemic consciousness that heightens and draws upon relational intelligence. So my purpose is to stimulate a more dedicated development of relational intelligence, which must not only be empathetic and compassionate to others, but also embody ways of being interactive and interconnected with all living systems on this planet.

TP: How can you handle so many projects at the same time?

AL: I have several clones (laughs). My secret is that I have excellent teams, and this is what I want to bring to both the Giordano Bruno University and the ISSS. In both cases, we want to create a thrivable world of collaborative communities. Alone, I just can’t achieve all these goals, but luckily the people I work with are much competent than me, which ensures the success of all these projects.

The article Alexander Laszlo Speaks about Educational Models: Part 2 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Alexander Laszlo is co-founder and President of Syntony Quest and former Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE- ITESM) located in Mexico. He was recently elected President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). He has also worked at UNESCO and for the U.S. Department of Education. He has been Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and the European University Institute. In addition to being the author of multiple book and journal articles, he is also a 5^th Degree Black Belt in Korean Karate.

Toonari Post (TP): You are well known for being the co-founder and President of Syntony Quest. Could you explain to us a little bit about this organization?

Alexander Laszlo (AL): Syntony Quest is an educational non-profit organization whose purpose is to serve as a bridge between academia and the business world on topics of sustainability. Many NGOs are focused on working with the problems of people; however, they often lack a more strategic platform from the point of view of theoretical and scientific progress on sustainability issues.

In our organization we conduct interactive research on socio environmental issues with a, participatory approach that is informed by the emerging context. This is the main purpose of Syntony Quest, to be a bridge that fosters self-directed sustainable development in case-specific contexts.

Sustainability means not exceeding the carrying capacity of our planet- trying to maintain a certain balance. But the goal of Syntony Quest is to help create a prosperous world, one that goes beyond mere sustainability to true thrivability, fostering an economy of abundance.

We must create an economy based on nature and not on abstract economic concepts, which are very common in the current economic system.

TP: On the other side, one year ago Giordano Bruno University was opened, where you have the role of Director of Learning and Curriculum Innovation. Tell us, what is the pedagogical model used?

AL: Giordano Bruno University does not seek to impose models that are not relevant to the current context. We are against the subordination of ideas. We want to develop a process of change in the narrative presented by the instructor in which the student has to memorize theory in the most efficient manner possible. Normally, the student has only to learn and repeat the narrative presented by the teacher in order to get the best score, trying to be as faithful to the original narrative as possible.

We want to move beyond this approach, to a second and then to a third point. The second part consists in a change of the teacher’s narrative. The narratives become based in simulations, which allow students to be an actor in a narrative, such as an interactive game like Buckminster Fuller’s World Game or the Model UN experience offered at the high school level for students to simulate a Conference of the United Nations. A simulation like this allows students to experiment, and see how to practice playing different roles.

This second option is good but, what is the intention of Giordano Bruno? It’s not only about the first model that consists of repeating the teacher’s narrative, and it is even beyond the second, which is to live in a designed narrative experience of it, which is still provided by the teacher.

The third model consists of the students creating their own narratives around the learning themes being focused on in the course. This is a process in which students are given the opportunity to live the topics of the course into their own narrative experience, making the course material relevant to their own situation and their own environment in a global context.

TP: Could you tell us a little bit about the instructors and the academic community?

AL: The Giordano Bruno model is very interesting, because the goal is to create an international cultural community of students from many parts of the world based on study groups of 21 students. These groups function as cells in a structure that can have from 10,000 to 300,000 students in a single course. Nevertheless, we are always focused on the groups of 21 students.

This model allows us to significantly reduce the costs while at the same time increasing accessibility, thereby potentially reaching students in any part of the world. Of course, they need to have access to Internet. Once there, they can interact with the other students of their group.

In this process, there is an instructor who designs the course. The course has certain parameters that allow for the use of technology in ways that are rapidly becoming more common in education these days. We want ideas and information to arise through a collegial process among students.

Thus, the learning challenges and the instructions for how to find the resources are designed by the instructor. However, the model for understanding the lesson arises through the cell interaction among students.

We seek to encourage interactions, for students to do two things: the first is to take the lessons and discuss them with their family and community, and the second is to report their results, perspectives and outcomes with their group of 21. All this helps the student to know the global context of the challenges of being an evolutionary change in the world while at the same time learn to be sensitive to the needs of their locality.

The teachers that we have are people of advanced preparation in their chosen field; as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), they design courses of large-scale and scope, which are then managed by a team of facilitators. However, the professor is mainly a designer of the course and responds only to questions that assistants can’t respond to. Primarily, we are looking to help students learn to answer their own questions and solve their own problems.

Read part two here.

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New York, U.S.A. – Experts and speakers dedicated to the empowerment of African women will gather in Libreville, Gabon.

The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women, in association with Mrs. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, the first lady of Gabon, will be hosting the 2012 installment of Dialogue for Action Africa (DFAA) in Libreville, Gabon. Dedicated to helping women in Africa lead safe, productive, and healthy lives, the forum seeks to creatively address the salient issues faced by African women.

In addition to special remarks by Cecilia Attias and Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, DFAA will feature a unique collection of inspiring experts and speakers from academia, government, NGOs, the private sector, and the medical community. Cecilia Attias comments: “The diversity and expertise of Dialogue for Action Africa’s speakers is astounding. Their dedication to women’s issues is truly inspiring and their insights will be enabling to promote African women’s issues through actionable initiatives.”

These initiatives will culminate in a Plan of Action for Africa, which will be presented at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico in June. At the G20, DFAA’s conclusions will become part of the global agenda and will be discussed by the world’s most influential leaders and policy makers. Creating this bridge between DFAA and government leaders is key to producing change at an institutional level and is an innovative example of public-private partnerships.

Dialogue for Action Africa will be held in conjunction with the New York Forum Africa, an annual action-oriented assembly of the world’s leading business, economic, and regulatory officials. By collaborating with New York Forum Africa, DFAA is seeking to build crosscutting partnerships between the worlds of business and NGOs.

New York Forum Africa founder Richard Attias comments: “Non-profits and private enterprises have much to share with one another. They can collaborate on a host of topics, from tackling issues related to efficiency and financing to engaging in discussions of mission and ethics. Collaboration between Dialogue for Action Africa and the New York Forum Africa is a step in this direction.”

Image Courtesy of MAINDRU PHOTO [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons

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NEW YORK, U.S.A.- Experts and speakers dedicated to the empowerment of African women to gather in Libreville, Gabon

The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women, in association with Mrs. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, the first lady of Gabon, will be hosting the 2012 installment of Dialogue for Action Africa (DFAA) in Libreville, Gabon. Dedicated to helping women in Africa lead safe, productive, and healthy lives, the forum seeks to creatively address the salient issues faced by African women.

In addition to special remarks by Cecilia Attias and Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, DFAA will feature a unique collection of inspiring experts and speakers from academia, government, NGOs, the private sector, and the medical community. Cecilia Attias comments: “The diversity and expertise of Dialogue for Action Africa’s speakers is astounding. Their dedication to women’s issues is truly inspiring and their insights will be enable us to promote African women’s issues through actionable initiatives.”

These initiatives will culminate in a Plan of Action for Africa, which will be presented at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico in June. At the G20, DFAA’s conclusions will become part of the global agenda and will be discussed by the world’s most influential leaders and policy makers. Creating this bridge between DFAA and government leaders is key to producing change at an institutional level and is an innovative example of public-private partnerships.

Confirmed DFAA speakers and participants include: Hon. Aicha Bah Diallo, FAWE Chairperson and Advisor to the Director-General UNESCO Education; Holly Gordon, Vice President, Project Development, The Documentary Group; Sade Baderinwa, Emmy Award-winning news anchor;

Dr. Amy Lehman, Founder Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic; Magatte Wade, Founder and CEO Tiossano; Vickie Remoe, Founder and Creative Director How4Do productions; Casey Cobell, EVP & Country Director Indego Africa Rwanda; Philisiwe Buthelizi, CEO National Empowerment Fund; Fatime Christiane Ndiaye, Sr. Gender Specialist International Labour Organization; Elizabeth Dearborn Davis, Co-Founder of the Akilah Institute for Women; Edna Adan Ismail, Midwife, Founder Edna Adan Hospital; Nahid Toubia, Founder of RAINBO; Coumba Toure, educator and artist; Yomi Abiola, Activist and journalist; and Zainab Salbi, Founder Women for Women International.

Dialogue for Action Africa will be held in conjunction with the New York Forum Africa, an annual action-oriented assembly of the world’s leading business, economic, and regulatory officials. By collaborating with New York Forum Africa, DFAA is seeking to build crosscutting partnerships between the worlds of business and NGOs.

New York Forum Africa founder Richard Attias comments: “Non-profits and private enterprises have much to share with one another. They can collaborate on a host of topics, from tackling issues related to efficiency and financing to engaging in discussions of mission and ethics. Collaboration between Dialogue for Action Africa and the New York Forum Africa is a step in this direction.”

For more information please visit the Dialogue for Action Africa website at: http://www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org/DialogueForActionAfrica

For more information please contact:

Cecilia Attias Foundation For Women

Online presence

http://www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org

http://www.fondationsylviabongoondimba.org

http://www.ny-forum-africa.com

http://www.richardattiasassociates.com

Don’t forget to follow on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/Ceciliaattias

http://twitter.com/Sylviabongo

http://twitter.com/nyforum

Image Courtesy of    Petr Kosina

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New York, U.S.A. – Carnegie Mellon, Hult International Business School and NYU Abu Dhabi were honored for their commitment to eradicating poverty at the Hult Global Case Challenge in New York City, hosted by Hult International Business and the Clinton Global Initiative.

The three winning teams beat thousands of students from the world’s best business schools for a US$1 millioncash grant and
were honored by President Bill Clinton.

Started three years ago by Hult graduate Ahmad Ashkar, the Hult Global Case Challenge is the largest and most respected initiative of its kind. Harnessing the power of crowd sourcing, the Hult Global Case Challenge attracted students from 350 colleges and universities to provide solutions to the real challenges facing three NGOs. These are Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable housing; SolarAid, which brings renewable energy to impoverished communities; and One Laptop Per Child, which provides low-cost computers to children.

A panel of high-profile judges including: Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Unilever Chairman Michael Treschow, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond, and the CEOs of the three NGOs, selected the winners in education, housing and energy.

Education               

Winner: Carnegie Mellon

To help One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) put 10 million laptops in the hands of children worldwide in the nextfive years, the Carnegie
Mellon team presented an innovative approach to ensure streamlined laptopdeployment and to create a global brand for the
NGO ’ s open-source software.

“The Hult Global Case Challenge has provided us with many ideas to address the challenge of scaling OLPC to enable learning for the world’s poorest children,” said Rodrigo Arboleda, Chairman and CEO of the One Laptop per Child Association. “We appreciate the creativity, passion and effort of all the student teams around the world who participated in the competition.”

Housing

Winner: Hult International Business School

Habitat for Humanity has a mission to provide homes for 50 million people within the next 10 years.
Hult ’s winning solution focuses on harnessing the intelligence of those at the bottom of the pyramid andequipping them to
solve their own problems.

“Hult’s Global Case Challenge is good news for everyone involved,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. “Students have the opportunity to solve real-world challenges, and organizations like Habitat benefit — not only from the prize money used to implement the winning proposal, but also from the ideas that emerge from crowdsourcing and the relationships that we develop with tomorrow’s business leaders.”

Energy

Winner: NYU Abu Dhabi

Many Africans still rely on kerosene lamps. NYU Abu Dhabi ’ s solution focuses on creating a network ofentrepreneurs and
technicians who will sell and fix solar lamps in a sustainable way.

Speaking in support of the winning team’s solution, SolarAid CEO Steve Andrews said: “Our goal is to eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa by the end of this decade. That’s simply a huge challenge, which will only be possible with massive innovation. Having the top students from around the world competing to come up with great ideas for how we will do this is an extraordinary boost. It’s already changing the way we think and work.”

Ahmad Ashkar, the founder and CEO of the Hult Global Case Challenge, said: “This initiative aims to revolutionize how we think about the world’s most pressing social challenges. With US$1 million in seed capital, students from all over the world have a chance to establish social enterprises that achieve real results.”

Congratulating the winning teams, Hult President Dr Stephen Hodges added: “The Hult Global Case Challenge is an important part of Hult’s push to encourage social entrepreneurship among talented students, whichever country they come from. Through this visionary kind of crowd sourcing we’re giving NGOs access to a wealth of new ideas and perspectives that help them grow stronger.”

Image Courtesy of  Jose Gil / Shutterstock.com

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The humanitarian situation in South Kordofan that has garnered international concern, and which some have now exploited to push an agenda of intervention, prompted the formation of a joint assessment team composed of UN agencies (UNICEF, WFP, WHO, FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs. Their report just concluded that the humanitarian situation in the region is at “Normal levels” and that food security is “good” and stable for the conflict-affected population of 53,220.

The survey covered a sample of 53 villages in the region and found the levels of malnutrition among children under the age of five to be at 4.4 percent, a figure that is far below 15 percent which constitutes the United Nation’s rate of emergency. These sobering findings emphatically refute and contravene the claims of imminent catastrophe claimed by scaremongers.

These encouraging statistics are a function of the humanitarian interventions dispensed by the Government and partners aimed precisely at mitigating the impact of the conflict on the population. The assessment further notes the need for coordination between the humanitarian actors and recommends an extension of the period of food assistance in order to avoid shortages while concurrently generating programs for supplementary and therapeutic diet.

It also calls for creating quick impact projects in host communities to support farmers, pastoralists and traders. While the government and partners continue to provide assistance, there ultimately remains a security threat posed by the rebels who continue to launch attacks against civilians and deliberately destroy their livelihoods. Still, this stresses the need on all stakeholders and the peace-loving to pressure the rebels to abandon this destruction and pursue peace.

Sudan continues to call on South Sudan to recognize its negative role in this crisis and cease its support to the rebels. And in order for the U.S. and those pushing for an intervention to play a constructive role, they must look at the facts on the ground not the exaggerated allegations.

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From Saturday, September 24, 2011, eastern Europe should consider itself cleaner as a result of one of the largest voluntary movements in Romania. “Let’s Do It Romania!” or what should become “The National Cleaning-up Day,” motivated 250,000 people to become actively involved in cleaning up their country.

Launched as a response to a successful Estonian idea, “Let’s Do It 2008!”, “Let’s Do It, Romania!” had its first event last year, when 200,000 people participated. The aim was to collect as much garbage from natural areas as possible in only one day with the help of volunteers.

Long before the chosen date, a whole organizational system was build from central, regional, and departmental teams to the involvement of shareholders, the mapping of garbage and the establishment of communication networks.

In addition to the clean-up effort, “Let’s Bike It, Romania!,” an event from earlier this year, people took their bikes and went for a bit of adventure and pleasure while mapping garbage spots on GPS references system. The 250,000 volunteers marked their presence on Saturday.

Early in the morning, the teams went to their assigned spots, supplied with gloves and bags. Until 3 p.m., forests, barbecue places, and valleys – all were cleaned-up.  The national campaign resulted in 350,000 garbage bags at a first count with final statistics to be given this week.

In the year of volunteering, “Let’s Do It, Romania!” brought together individuals, students and professors, employers and employees, non-profit organizations and private companies, under the same message: “Ff there’s something that bothers you, take action, be the change you want to see around!” as stated on the official web-site “Let’s Do It, Romania!”

“They explained that it is extremely difficult to mobilize Romanians. That they are not like Estonians. That the country is huge. That Romanians don’t like volunteer work. That the Romanian team has had many meetings, but results are not much. That they are kind of stuck. That was an honest discussion.

Frankly, I could see it was not easy for them. They had worked hard for a dream. We tried to figure what to do. I urged them to go mapping at least few spots and go from there. To keep trying,” remembers Rainer Nõlvak, one of the organizers of “Let’s Do It, 2008!” on the Let’s Do It, World! website, about one of the first meeting with the Romanian initiators.

Hanks to their determination, a quarter of million people at the second country clean-up proved their active support and registered another success of the campaign, nationally. The project is already catching on in different countries farther than Romania and Europe.

In 2008, different countries subscribed to the “Let’s Do It, World!” campaign:

Estonia (2008 – 50,000 volunteers),
Latvia (2008- 50,000; 2009- 110,000; 2010- 150,000),
Lithuania (2008 – 6,000; 2009 – 100,000; 2010 – 200,000),
Portugal (2010 – 110,000),
Slovenia (2010 – 275,000),
New Delhi, India (2010 – 50,000),
Kerala, India (2010 – 4,100),
Moldova (2011 – 113,000).

Further action is expected for Bangladesh, Ukraine, Brazil, Finland, Netherlands, France, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Italy, and California. “Let’s Do It, World!” could become one of the greatest citizens’ initiatives in the world, where each of us could have a say in the cleaning-up of our environment.

However, strongly recommended would be a secondary project of “Let’s Keep it Clean!” which would very probably add sustainability to the project and double the results. Until then, let’s just hope the goal of this civic movement will be soon achieved: a world free of waste!

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/d-i-a/

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