You are brilliant, and the Earth is hiring!

Today was all about advocacy and changing the world in our own way- we are only one person but the power of one person can move a mountain.

We started the day with a session which taught us about advocacy and how to develop and plan a project. We talked through the steps from choosing an issue we feel passionate about, to implementing the project, to assessing the project. We applied this knowledge to our own ideas and created a short spoken message which we filmed outside in the beautiful Swiss Alps.

After a lovely morning tea (with yummy chocolate biscuits) we split into four different workshops: Influencing people and lobbying, campaign planning, communication skills, and media skills. We each enjoyed these sessions because we were able to learn something new and exciting in small groups.

Afterwards we watched a documentary film “Taking Root” about Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan Professor who fought for the protection of the environment and for women in her country. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. She is an inspiring example of what one person can do to change the world around them.

Finally, we had time to think about our personal environmental projects which we will begin when we arrive back in our home countries. We shared our thoughts with the Seminar planning team who were very helpful in assisting us to shape our projects.

Finally, we enjoyed learning about our beautiful host country during Swiss Night. A local gentleman named Fritz played the Alpenhorn for us, we sang some songs, acted out the William Tell story, had a quiz and ate chocolate fondue…. lovely, lovely, lovely. What a night! And guess what? It snowed today!!!!! This was the first time Caitlin the Australian and Ruby fromTaiwanhad seen falling snow. Excitement!

As for our water consumption, it decreased to 93.3 litres per person, which is a record low and we´re all very proud.

To finish our daily update, we want to include a quote for you all from a speech by Paul Hawken that Andii shared with us today:

Each of you is as complex and beautiful as all the stars in the universe, and you are facing the most amazing, stupefying challenge ever faced by a generation. The generations before you failed. They didn’t stay up all night to look at the stars. They got distracted and lost sight of the fact that every moment of life is a miracle. Nature beckons you to be on her side. You couldn’t ask for a better boss. The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer. This is your century. Take it and run with it as if your life depends on it.” Paul Hawkens' - extract from the speech to graduating class 2012

 
All updates from Our Chalet and Sangam can be found here.

Previous updates from Our Chalet:
Day 1 - March 14
Day 2 - March 15
Day 3 - March 16
Day 4 - March 17