RoRec Projects

The ‘Green Inspiration’ Environment Protection Essay Competition awards ceremony took place in Bucharest on 13 February 2010. It was a project initiated by the RoRec Association and the National Environment Guard.

The competition was open between 20 October 2009 and 7 January 2010 for essays aiming to help us understand what pollution is, how it affects us and what we should do to reduce it.

The competition organisers became aware of the fact that children and teenagers perceive in a direct and acute way the ecological disaster ahead of us, and that they are more receptive to ecology-related information and education.

Over 400 children and teenagers aged between 10 and 16, from all over the country, sent essays for the competition organised by the RoRec Association at the launch of the roreckids.org.ro website.

The 16 winners (whose names you can find on www.roreckids.org.ro) were offered prizes by the RoRec Association, the National Environment Guard, Realitatea FM and Philips Romania – video and photo equipment, digital photo frames, bicycles and a laptop for the first prize winner.

The essays were assessed by a jury made up of 4 members, representing each of the organising partners, Iuliana Niculescu - PR&Communication, The Romanian Association for Recycling, Dana Haranaciu – Chief of Cabinet of the National Environment Guard General Commissioner, Virginia Rentea – Romanian language and literature teacher, Principle of School no.1, Floresti, Giurgiu, and Teodora Tita – Editor-in-chief at Realitatea FM.

‘When we read their essays, we felt glad to discover so much talent and sensitivity. On the other hand, we are saddened by the fact that our children experience such worries and feel so acutely the adults’ lack of care for the environment where this generation lives, plays, breathes and learn,’ said Mr. Liviu Popeneciu, President of RoRec. ‘It is time we stopped blaming others for polluting the environment where we live, and change our attitude and become aware that each of us is responsible for the fears experienced by these children.  As one of our little authors said, it is time to “stop trying to keep the atmosphere of our conscience clean by sweeping the dust under the neighbour’s rug.”’

Silvian Ionescu, as General Commissioner, wishes everybody to know of his intention to work closely with the civil society. ‘By involving schools in environment protection projects, and organising competitions such as ‘The Green Inspiration’ or ‘Guardian of the Environment’, the young generation learns about these values and develops a new, proactive attitude towards the environment,’ said Silvian Ionescu, General Commissioner of the National Environment Guard.

You can read the winning essays on www.roreckids.org.ro. A mini-anthology containing all the competition entries will be published. The RoRec Association wishes to offer it to children and teenagers, but particularly to adults. It is another way to try and make the grown-ups understand that children know what they have to do, but before they grow up, it is better not to destroy the world where they will live as adults.

‘Slowly, everything will disappear into the fog… And maybe there will be no one left to ask at least “Why?”…’
Coman Elena

‘Why couldn’t things be again as they had been in the beginning, when he used to play outside? Why had everything changed?’
Gologan Alexandra

‘How selfish can we be not to see what is around us? No matter how busy we might be, we cannot ignore what is hidden beyond appearances!’

Diana Anelisse Onel

‘Environment protection begins at home, with us, with our self-respect. It is simply our attitude to all there is around us.’
Constantinescu Alexandra

‘The suffering planet starts to threaten our existence. Man, the only being which destroys the environment where he lives, must soon understand how important the leaves of grass and the blue sky are.’
Ciulacu Cristina Georgiana

‘We don’t need ostentatious presentations or poetic devices to underline a problem that can be fatal not only for survival, but also for man’s aspiration to an Edenic dimension.’

Codreanu Isabela-Adelina