Clean Games

On October 10th, 2020, teams of volunteers from 24 different cities in the US and Russia participated in the The Clean Games,  a team competition aimed at cleaning up natural areas and promoting sustainable practices. Our project aimed to motivate young people to advocate for a cleaner environment in their communities, by unifying and exchanging experience with their counterparts in Russia and the US. Through the interactive competitive format of Clean Games, we provided a platform for organizers and participants to work together in real time to remove trash and beautify their community. This need became particularly acute in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when young people are isolated and cooped up at home, our project was useful for motivating them to explore new opportunities in global ecological activism.

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Beyond simply providing the resources and protocol for executing socially distanced Clean Games, this project aimedto encourage dialogue on innovative ideas for ecological advocacy among organizers. It is for this reason we developed the eco-forum, a 3-hour bilingual meeting with a trainer where organizers engaged in dialogue on opportunities for ecological advocacy between Russia and the US. Where is their common-ground for environmental work? In whatcan we learn from each other? How does the ecological culture differ between our two countries?

This Game was held held with the support of the Eurasia Foundation and the US-Russia Social Expertise Exchange Program.