Kuulumisia ”Nuoret ekokylissä” – kevättapaamisesta /
News from ”Youth in ecovillages” – spring meeting of GEN Finland
Skey:n perinteinen kevättapaaminen järjestettiin la 20.5.2017 Huvikumpu-yhteisössä Helsingin Puistolassa. Tapahtumarikas päivä oli suunnattu erityisesti ekokylistä kiinnostuneille nuorille sekä ekokylissä toteutettavasta nuorisotyöstä kiinnostuneille aikuisille. Päivä tarjosi kattavan tutustumispaketin suomalaiseen ja kansainväliseen ekokyläliikkeeseen, sekä nuorisotoiminnan mahdollisuuksiin liikkeen sisällä. Erilaisissa työpajoissa tutustuttiin kestävän elämäntavan osa-alueisiin – sosiaaliseen, maailmankuvalliseen, ekologiseen ja ekonomiseen kestävyyteen.
Tapahtumaan osallistunut, parhaillaan Aalto-yliopistossa opiskeleva makedonialainen Maja Ilievska kirjoittaa kokemuksestaan alla englanniksi.
This year 2017 the traditional spring meeting of GEN Finland was held at Huvikumpu -collective in Helsinki on Saturday 20th of May. This busy activity day was targeted for young adults interested in ecovillages and adults engaged in organizing youth work within ecovillages. The day offered an encompassing introduction into the ecovillage movement in Finland and abroad and particularly into the opportunities for youth within the movement. Different workshops presented the four dimensions of sustainability – the social, spiritual, ecological and economical dimensions.
Maja Ilievska writes below how she experienced the event. She is a macedonian young woman currently studying in Finland at Aalto University. /PH
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This was my first closer acquaintance with eco village community and it made me realize that it is much stronger and widespread than I could imagine. In my limited understanding the basic principles upon which eco villages emerge are within the social, ecological and spiritual domain. The inhabitants of each eco village decide how important these aspects are and how they will combine them in order to bring about balance in their environment.
We received a wealth of information regarding events and opportunities to get hands on during internships or workshops. We discussed and learned about volunteering opportunities worldwide through platforms such as WWOOF and Workaway. It was very inspiring to hear the personal stories about living on the move with a mobile house and taking a break from the “society” in order to be with oneself, learn more about nature and how to be self sufficient.
Singing songs inspired by the Finnish national epic Kalevala as a sign of gratitude, while holding hands and sharing the energy felt very grounding and created space for deeper connection. With some of the participants we had a discussion that we would be interested to learn more about folklore and traditional rituals that would help us reconnect with nature.
There was an organization, Juurielo ry, presenting their activities with youth, which involved one week camps where youngsters could learn more about old and somewhat abandoned natural and spiritual traditions in Finland. A beautiful way to revive those traditions – by engaging the youth!
It made me very happy to get so many invitations to visit eco villages and farms around Finland! I really appreciate the work behind organizing this event and opening the world of eco villages to enthusiastic newcomers. I think one day I will join an eco village as a resident, until then I will try to implement some of the practices in my everyday life.
- Maja Ilievska