Treaty of Middelburg
I think that many people think that their opinion is not important and that they cannot really change anything, or that someone will do it for them, or that their problems are completely unique. As the result some social, political, economic problems -local or global remain unaddressed for decades and generations. For example everyone considers themselves “children” of their country. This belief justifies them complaining about certain conditions in their countries. However how many of these complainers have tried to do something with this? The percentage varies obviously yet it still is a tiny number. If everyone truly felt free to pursue their truths and changes, if this behaviour would be encouraged, if citizens felt like they are “parents” of their countries —responsible for the state of things (which in fact they are whether they realise that or not), many problems would be solved quicker and more efficiently. Instead there is a huge group of complainers that are saying something about the “system” and then skip elections, pass by the trash on the street ignoring it, work for decades being paid less than the market salary —“dealing with IT”. That I dream to change.
Team members
- ■ Yevheniia Danylova
Why do you want to participate?
I strongly believe that freedom powers the progress. However, this is such a complex concept that the more people contribute to it - the more people will benefit from it. I want to be able to contribute to creating the most fecund environment for my peers and colleagues. Each person's experience is unique and thus the understanding and definitions of freedom do vary. I consider this conference an inimitable opportunity to broaden my personal horizons and to share my thoughts and beliefs with other amazing participants. Additionally I highly value the opportunity to network with individuals who as much as I do are socially active to exchange ideas and values with them in the future!
What does freedom mean to you?
To me freedom divides into three main categories - social, legal and mental. Social freedom is the social situation in which an individual can make their personal choices (these are the ones that do not harm others) by themselves and not be discriminated against based on them. Legal freedom is the individual’s ability to be heard and seen and a chance for each person to influence their living situation. I also believe in mental freedom. Mental freedom is the person’s confidence that they can make a difference and they are important, and they should speak up and stand up for themselves and others, that the world is their oyster and their opinion and life satisfaction is important.
What are the biggest challenges?
Young people are the ones that are often forgotten about, since they are just beginning to live their lives and haven’t gotten a chance yet to become that experienced and influential as the older population. However they have lived enough to build their systems of beliefs and have ideas to make our world better. That is why I think the main constraint for us is that it is much more difficult to be heard and taken seriously. We don’t have the financial means to make a campaign, we don’t have the important roles to “do things our way”, we are often looked down at and judged when pushing our ideas.
Do you have a message?
We are not the children of our countries, we are the parents. Let’s be responsible ones. Let’s be attentive ones. Let’s be brave ones. Let’s be kind ones.
