Saturday , November 5
SUSTAINABILITY
PRESENTATIONS
by Daphne Chiang-Ratke , AWC Berlin
Among the many presentations on Saturday morning was Holly Todd for the AWCH ’ s project at Hanseatic Help . Hanseatic Help is a local non-profit organization , which collects and distributes badly needed items to numerous organizations . The AWCH supports the project by sorting donation items for refugees , the homeless , and others in need in Hamburg and in crisis areas .
Katja Diembeck , Hanseatic Help sustainability coordinator , pointed out the burden of the surplus donated textile items Hanseatic Help has received . Most of these are the fast-fashion nightmares .
To raise awareness of the sustainability problem and the subsequent disposal caused by fast fashion , Hanseatic Help has started the “ talk ” with governments
MANY ATTENDEES WERE ENERGIZED AND INSPIRED TO MAKE CHANGE AFTER HEARING FROM KATJA DIEMBECK OF HANSEATIC HELP .
PHOTO BY SARA NAUMANN
and fast-fashion companies , and it offers educational workshops to various groups , such as schoolkids . The schoolkids learn to exchange their clothes with their schoolmates or shop at secondhand stores .
Dr . Brigitte Bernard-Rau of the AWCH presented her new book , Sustainability Stories : The Power of Narratives to Understand Global Challenges . We were so honored to listen to four amazing stories out of the total forty stories in her book ; these were from Hamburg , Nairobi , New Calcutta City , and Guadeloupe .
Interested in volunteering at Hanseatic Help on Friday mornings or other times or setting up a sustainability workshop at a school you know ? Please contact Holly and Shelly at HanseaticHelp @ awchamburg . org
SHARING IDEAS TOGETHER
by Tracy Moede , AWCH
Saturday afternoon ended with time for a discussion of club issues , facilitated by Region 5 Coordinator Angelika McLarren ( AWC Berlin ). This type of idea-sharing is always valuable for FAWCO representatives , club presidents , and all club members . It lets us see what works for other clubs and gives the opportunity to gather ideas that we can implement in our own clubs .
That evening , we gathered for a nice dinner at Catch of the Day , a nearby restaurant in the harbor area . Diners enjoyed getting to know one another better and discussing all they had heard throughout the day ’ s meetings .
28 HOSTING IN HAMBURG & HYGGE