INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY MEETING

HEALTHY LIVING - A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT

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The official language of the Meeting was English.

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Debate moderators: Mohd Nurazmeel bin Mokhtar, Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society, Marija Srsen, POWERPROGRESSIVEART

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This meeting was an incentive for connecting and mutual presentation of the peoples and initiatives involved - organizations, associations, platforms, projects, etc. 

Abet by the task of the Ramsar Convention Secretariat to produce an initial report in advance of COP13 on the relationship of indigenous peoples and local communities with wetlands we would like to incorporate our activity into this process. The meeting would occur as an activity of PowerProgressiveArt and provide a platform to look for stronger points of connection with the Ramsar agenda, including the Arts and Youth Engagement Thematic Groups of the Convention’s Culture Network. We have anticipated new ideas leading to new collaborations regarding raising awareness of the natural and cultural heritage of the world, wetlands in particular, by presenting projects and exchanging knowledge and experiences. This meeting presented the in site case studies. The participants of this meeting were from different associations, organizations, and groups, and their work has a common starting point - raising awareness of natural, also the cultural heritage of the world.

The goal of this gathering was creating stronger and more networking collaborations.

Ideas for the talks/lectures at the meeting were partially based on four principals of wellness as well as on the historical fact of the developing of the ancient civilizations just on the deltas. The deltas supplied people with water and food, had enabled transportation, communication, and trade. Suitable areas such as these enabled the established civilizations to spread and fix their power in certain territories. Throughout the centuries this development was at the expense of the natural resources on which it was based. Due to the drainage of wetlands to obtain agricultural land, regulation of river flows, pollution of communal and industrial wastewaters, over-exploitation of their resources are only some of the human activities that have caused the disappearance and the degradation of wetland habitats. Thus, it is pertinent to raise awareness of the importance of natural and cultural heritage preservation, first in the local community, and the broader civil community as well.  These new and the known concepts could be applied to personal decisions, group interaction and community betterment that could lead us to the Environmental wellness - the ability to recognize our own responsibility for the home we live in - our planet, Earth.

(intro: Ana Gizdic) 

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