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.