Environment Protection

Children and Youth Support Organisation (CYSO) recognises environmental awareness raising and needs for promotion of active participation in environmental protection and preservation as most important areas for engaging children and youth from the very beginning of their education. Our overall objective is to help them understand the importance and value of natural resources, to develop habits which will keep their immediate environment safe and clean and help them develop and foster a sense of responsibility for environmental preservation and sustainable development.

Since 2005, we have been implementing programmes related to the environment protection in southern Serbia mostly, but in other regions of the country as well. We have developed a model for cooperation which involves networking of children and youth, citizens, non-profit making organisations, schools, companies and state institutions.

At the same time, CYSO is dedicated to strengthening the capacities of local NGOs in their efforts to act and work in their local environment as independent agents of change, but in cooperation with local communities and schools as well.

Our model of networking has proven to be very successful because it supports children and youth develop an active approach towards recycling in general, gathering waste for recycling, and they understand that they can plan and carry out new joint actions with the money they earn through selling the collected recyclable waste. Thanks to our programmes, the media are showing more interest in topics concerning environmental issues and our efforts in environmental awareness raising of the local communities are also successful.

As with all our projects, these environmental programmes are also being implemented in cooperation with national and international organisations, local and state institutions and educational institutions of all levels.