It started as one of the many phenomena of protest and environmental awareness, and then the “Greta” phenomenon spread all over the world, like the hurricanes that are formed in the middle of the oceans, and baptized by meteorologists with gentle female names that do untold damage. Greta won’t do any damage and that’s good news. The excellent news is that her mission is to give visibility to issues that should lead to policies that reduce the risk of hurricanes and other calamitous events. Everyone knows that Greta Thunberg is a Swedish teenager, who last year, faced with the repeated wave of fires in her country, called for the “school climate strike”, soon imitated by many classmates, spending the class time in front of the Swedish Parliament. The aim was to respect the Paris agreements on the emission of carbon dioxide, which causes the latter to be among the most decisive factors of the average increase in temperatures. Meanwhile, Greta launched the “Friday for Future” initiative: demonstrating every Friday in favor of the environment. And kids from all over the world have joined.
Young people and adults
The planet has thus rediscovered the environmental ideals, never forgotten but which have sometimes become a routine exercise, this time seen through the eyes of “millennials”, the people who were born after 2000, eyes that have seen no other world than multicultural, hyper-connected global village which is near the point of no return. There is also another very interesting fact however: if the protest of a Swedish girl becomes an international phenomenon, it means that in the world there is both a great desire to take back the future, giving a new chance to the planet and to all of us, and also the desire to see the new generations take up the thread of this common future. Adults want to find their references in the young, rather than the opposite. It can be a way to rejuvenate everyone while keeping the little amount of wisdom that age should give us.
Also the children of Damanhur
Greta and her friendly face can truly have the possibility to reach all of our hearts, representing a perfect testimonial for the “Fridays” campaign, so much so that it would seem like she is a character created artificially. Millions of her peers and us too think instead that Greta is a real person and equally true are all those who, in concentric circles that start from Sweden, have become active. Also the children of the Damanhur school, on the day of the coordinated events throughout Europe, Friday, March 15, took part in the nearest event, in the town called Pont Canavese. The environmental vision is a problem that involves everyone, and therefore is measured by personal commitment and is a subject strongly felt in Damanhur where the community dimension is considered, among other things, as the best way to respect resources and reduce pollution. To give an example, in Damanhur the collection and separation of garbage, glass and metals began in the Eighties, when it was not required by law nor were there public structures that valued it: but it was an element of coherence to which we did not want to renounce. In this way, we have learned how many subsequent uses any object can have before it becomes a waste.
Get to the heart of people
The problem, when it comes to nature and the environment, is that we need to get to people’s hearts, in order to get to their habits. It is necessary for everyone to be aware that international treaties are important but that their effectiveness also depends on how we do the shopping or use our car. We can think of the environment not only in terms of our future, our health, or a better world for our children but also with a feeling of love for this part of ourselves that is so different but to which our life is so tied. Greta teaches us about commitment in first person, the importance of personal participation, starting from the younger years in which we are most sensitive. On Fridays, it is important to go to the streets, and from Saturday to Thursday recover a healthy awareness of our responsibilities!
