Day 5

Explaining roles of cats in history

 

Today we decided to look at the cats in different cultures, and how people cared about them throughout the history, and how it changed in modern times. Each group researched one aspect of cats in history, and then they presented their finding to others.

For example, did you know cats also had a big religious role in Islam? Prophet Muhammad was tender and kind towards cats. He appreciated cats as a cat once saved his life. Hazrat Muhammad's  favourite cat was called Muezza. There is a well-known story regarding the Prophet and Muezza. Even to this day cats are the only animals allowed in mosques. 

Cats have always had big importance in history. In Egypt, where they were viewed as guardians of the underworld. Cats can be also frequently found in ancient Greece. For example famous superstition about black cats being seen as omen of death comes from Greece - in ancient times black cats were thought to be an omen of death because of their connection with Hecate, goddess of magic and necromancy. Interesting comparison with old British mythology, where white cat that is viewed as bad omen. Greece also introduced one of the first concepts of animal protection and rights. Famous philosopher Pythagoras added concept of animal rights into philosophy, and all his life fought for protection of their rights, often contradicting Aristotle who said animals were inferior to human and are there to only serve our needs. 

In Japan, cat Maneki Neko is a symbol of good fortune. Have you heard about cat island in Japan, inhabited by hundredths of cats? The island Aoshima, is famous for being cat domain. Small fishing village is literally surrounded by cats, they outnumber humans six to one on the island.

 

However, taking care of the animals doesn't have have only bright side. One of the main tasks today was to tackle the issue of animal rights and cruelty against animals. Participants researched how people cared for animals in history compared to modern times in different countries. In group work, participants were asked to explore the questions about responsible ownership or how religion in countries made difference towards treatment of animals. For example, Arabic countries have stronger law considering treatment of cats than Christian countries in Europe where animal right were a bit benevolent. However, UK still poses as a great example in animal right protection. 

Day 4

Today was the day for the Organisational market. All the participants presented their organisation and projects to the others and then discussed their stance on animal security. 

On this project we have participants from Lithuania, Romania, Greece, Hungary and UK. Every country has their own rules and legislations, so discussing the differences was vital part of our day. 

Noemi from Hungary (first photo), presented Misima animal shelter, her family manages. Szilvia, the team leader of the Hungarian group (second picture), presented the project from one of their team members focused on Cat rescue in her home-town . 

Later today participants were asked to discuss One Europe-common issue. Their main task was to find out how animal Protection legislation differs in EU countries, and how it is working. Talking about deep culture of the counties and applying it to the attitude towards animals. The participants prepared in advance (as part of their preparation for the project) a talk about the situation in their home country. We found that many countries introduced a pet protection laws/policies, but it is not working properly.

However because, not whole day should be about working, in the afternoon, participants were free to roam around Plymouth.

Day 3

How to take care of your animal friends 

Every animal owner has to arrange many things before having a pet. Creating a nice environment for them is one of the most important things. It is time consuming and costs money, but providing your pets with proper care works both ways – happy cat, happy owner. Today we also talked about how much you should spend monthly to provide your furry friends with everything they need.

For this exercise, the participants were divided into group of three, according to their level of knowledge and previous involvement. The groups of beginners were asked to identify basic need of pets and formulate them in 5 main groups (home, toys, food, health and caring). The groups of experts moved thing a bit further.

Their task was to explore and discuss following areas:

1. Types of toys cat and dog needs. How toys address their daily needs
2. Type of food. Which food is more suitable, dry or wet
3. Type of food in terms of ingredients. Analyse brands and difference in food for cats and dogs. 
4. Care. What it includes, what an owner should be aware of.

Participants worked in groups. After collecting ideas, they discussed their finding, first between each other, then together with other groups.

Later that day, the participants’ task was to create an “Adventure in the garden.” Groups sorted by nationalities, were asked to create a perfect garden for your cat. However, having a cat friendly garden is not as easy as it looks. Participants were also asked to prepare poster and drawing of their pet garden, following these guidelines.

Things every pet owner should remember:

• You need to include places for physical exercise – cat gym
• Sort out which plants are dangerous to your pet
• Cats are territorial, so how to help them to protect their territory.
• Psychological and biological factors.

Day 2

Second day was packed with a number of activities starting at 9.30am. We started with official opening ceremony, introduced the project, aims and need to increase awareness in animal welfare.

Why we needed to organise this project

The project is now in full start and we decided to sit down and talk about why we needed to organise it. There are a lot of things that affect our planet and environment around us  in a bad way, but the good thing is that everyone can help to reduce them and do their bit for the environment. Children and young people are the key figures for a better  future of animals. The problem of stray cat and dog population in Eastern and Southern Europe is on very big scale. Europe has a very serious stray animals issue. Stray animals can become a problem for many reasons: they carry diseases that can be passed to humans and other animals (and, therefore, this is ecological issue), they can cause road accidents, harass and attack citizens, damage property and pollute the environment. They are often seen as a nuisance and health hazard by the people who live alongside them, resulting in persecution by humans in the form of cruelty, abuse and inhumane methods of killing. 

On July 4, 2012 the EU announced the "European Parliament resolution on the establishment of an EU legal framework for the protection of pets and stray animals" calling on the Commission  to put forward an EU legal framework for the protection of stray animals, including (among other points) information and educational programmes for children and young people in schools and other settings. European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, Chapter IV, Article 14 says that there is a need to develop educational programmes and increase awareness of animal welfare and protection. Therefore, the need to increase work in the field of youth on animal protection issues  has been identified and confirmed on the grassroot level, and this is in line with European strategy, which recognise a need on European and international level.

Our project is a platform for young people to increase their  knowledge in animal welfare field and explore the ways to tackle the issue of stray animals through care, responsible ownership and active citizenship. This was also one of their tasks on the second day. After the break, the participants worked in mixed group to identify their expectations (skills they brought, expected outcomes of the training, long-term outcomes, guidelines for working together)  and  fears.

Day 1

Arrival. It was busy day. The first participant arrived at 5am, and then the rest followed…

The official meeting time was at 7pm.  After dinner, the Introduction session and Icebreakers activity have been organised. Icebreakers played an important role in helping young people integrate and connect with one another in a group environment. And because most of the participants didn't know each other before coming to Plymouth, it also helped them to stimulate cooperation and participation. 

Happy Hungarian group, who just arrived in the UK is enjoying British weather and looking forward to start the project. 

Welcome everyone!

We at Amber Initiatives Erasmus+ proudly presents our activities from the international Youth Exchange "Under One Sky" dedicated to learn more about animal welfare and protection, as well as a role NGOs in tackling problem of growing stray pets population in European countries.

On this blog we will share what we learned during our time together, and how this international cooperation changed our view of animal protection.