Within the “Sustainable is better” initiative, implemented by the Association of Young Researchers Bor in cooperation with the City of Bor and supported by GIZ, the first educational activity for children and young people aged between 12 and 19 was realized on October 3, 2021.

A total of 40 students of the Technical School and the elementary schools “Stanoje Miljkovic”, “3. oktobar” and “Dusan Radovic” visited the mountain Stol. The children had the opportunity to hear more about the goals and activities within the initiative, the concept of sustainable development, natural resources of the area and possibilities of their sustainable usage. They also learned why Stol is one of the internationally important areas for birds and butterflies, about forest ecosystems and mountain meadows, geology and geomorphology of the area. The guides of the excursion, Dejana Boranović Marinković and Aleksandar Bogosavljević, discussed with children the possibilities for sustainable tourism in the surroundings of Bor. One group of children climbed to the mountain top where they had the chance to take a look at the “environmental black spot”, more precisely the City of Bor with its mining and metallurgy complex, but also, they could see the “green circle” around Bor. The children took photos and videos which will be needed for the upcoming activities within the initiative.

Besides that, within the same initiative, the first informative panel on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals for citizens was held on the 24^th of September at the Elementary School ”Branko Radičević” in Bor.

The project coordinator, Nataša Ranđelović, presented partners, objectives and current activities within the initiative. The panel moderator and member of the Youth Center in Bor, Ana Jovanovski, informed the participants about the concept of sustainable development and the importance of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After that, the focus of the meeting towards the SDGs related to environmental protection and on the discussion on important goals and targets for the local community. Participants from the Youth Center in Bor were highly motivated for the discussion and highlighted that the younger generation should be educated on the current situation regarding the development in local communities and the possibilities for individuals and organizations to influence these processes. Experiences of the Municipality of Raška in the implementation of SDGs were shared during the panel discussion.  Also, information on available grants for youth provided by the Young Researchers of Serbia, especially those related to environmental protection was presented, emphasizing that those grants are a great opportunity for young people to contribute to the sustainable development of their local community.

More information about activities of the Association of Young Researchers Bor and the initiative “Sustainable is better” is available on the following link: Bolje je OdRživo – Pregled aktivnosti (mibor.rs)

The Initiative “Sustainable is better” is part of the “Public Finance Reform – 2030 Agenda” project, supported by the governments of Switzerland and Germany and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH