President receives Ecologists Without Borders

Ljubljana, 23.3.2012  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, received representatives of the international organisation Ecologists Without Borders who are participating in the ‘Let's Clean Slovenia 2012’ campaign, which is part of the ‘World Cleanup 2012’ initiative. The reception was attended by representatives of Ecologists Without Borders from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, France, Croatia, Latvia, Macedonia, the Netherlands, and Slovenia.

In his welcoming speech, the President said that the ‘World Cleanup 2012’ initiative is an extremely important global action which was the result of a civil society initiative. He emphasised that contemporary society needs not only technical innovations, but also innovations in the fields of civil society initiatives, environmental protection, and political organisation. According to the President, ‘Let's Clean Slovenia 2012’, which is a part of an international initiative, is one such innovative action.

The President also mentioned his experience of working in the United Nations Organization and emphasised that there had been many global initiatives in the UN then, but few had been as ambitious as the global ‘World Cleanup 2012’ initiative. "Good results begin with high ambitions," said the President, and expressed the hope that this campaign would succeed. In closing, he cautioned that success would come only when the responsibility of each person for the environment improved, and when all the relevant state authorities truly dedicated themselves to this goal.

On behalf of the organisers of the campaign, the president of Slovenian Ecologists without Borders, Petra Matos, thanked the President for the reception. She too expressed hope that the world would be really clean one day, and that people learn that we are all responsible for the environment in which we live. She emphasised that pollution knows no borders, so it is appropriate to fight it on a global level. She hoped that the presidents of other countries would sustain the global action with the same enthusiasm as President Türk. Such support is very important, because it gives the project credibility and recognisability.

The president of Ecologists Without Borders sincerely thanked the President for his support so far. In her opinion, his support has contributed to greater public awareness and helped unite Slovenia in this project. "I am glad that we will be cleaning our country tomorrow and that the President will roll up his sleeves as well, so that we can clean it together. With this in mind, I am giving him a cleaning package to make cleaning with us easier," added Petra Matos.