Yesterday I participated (even as a part of amazing organising committee!) in the opening ceremony of BEFF (Big Ecology Film Festival) held in my home city of Petrozavodsk. Now the festival celebrates its fifth anniversary and this reminded me first visiting it at my first year of studies three years ago. It was my first volunteering experience during my university life which helped me to meet inspiring and enthusiastic people but moreover it helped me to become more close to environmental thinking.
At the opening ceremony of BEFF 2012 a film Red Forest Hotel (Punaisen metsän hotelli, 2011) dealing with the problem of illegal logging and illegal timber trade was shown. That is a documentary exploring the big gap between the environmental responsibility as an abstract concept good for declaring the policy of certain business and a state and the reality when positive aims transform to urge towards economic profit. In the fight for economic resources both nature and its exploitators can become victims. This idea was cleary seen in Pioneer movie shown yesterday. May it be oil boom or will to increase pulp industry by all means, there are not any obvious mechanisms to see the balance.
I sometimes wonder whether legal regulation can help. Is there any possibility for results of academic research and legislative changes modify the way stakeholders view the environment? Can sanctions or penalties work? From what should we start? We cannot change the world, but we can start from us - meeting people, seeing their works of art, letting their thoughts and aspirations change our worldview. And there are dedicated people giving leaflets on the Green wave movement specialising on community work days to clean the environment, there are us planting new trees or even just sharing posts on social network encouraging others to get involved. That is the dialogue!
At the opening ceremony of BEFF 2012 a film Red Forest Hotel (Punaisen metsän hotelli, 2011) dealing with the problem of illegal logging and illegal timber trade was shown. That is a documentary exploring the big gap between the environmental responsibility as an abstract concept good for declaring the policy of certain business and a state and the reality when positive aims transform to urge towards economic profit. In the fight for economic resources both nature and its exploitators can become victims. This idea was cleary seen in Pioneer movie shown yesterday. May it be oil boom or will to increase pulp industry by all means, there are not any obvious mechanisms to see the balance.
I sometimes wonder whether legal regulation can help. Is there any possibility for results of academic research and legislative changes modify the way stakeholders view the environment? Can sanctions or penalties work? From what should we start? We cannot change the world, but we can start from us - meeting people, seeing their works of art, letting their thoughts and aspirations change our worldview. And there are dedicated people giving leaflets on the Green wave movement specialising on community work days to clean the environment, there are us planting new trees or even just sharing posts on social network encouraging others to get involved. That is the dialogue!
I have to admit that I am still not that much environmentally friendly but I know that I want to be. But BEFF has become a start for my awareness of environmental problems, and my bachelor thesis topic corresponds to the problem raised at the film show three years ago. The thesis is no use in the reality and what is written there does not bear that much sense - but for me it shows how my direction of thinking develops and how it predetermines even my academic research interests. And once I see that the conclusions of my graduation work are too vague, I understand even better that I need to do something on my own.
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