Festival for ecology and peace "Children are the guardians of the planet and the world"

The award-winning Festival for Ecology and Peace "Children are the Guardians of the Planet and the World" will take place for the THIRD time in Zenica this year, organized by the Kindergarten "Abakus," the Center for Education, Affirmation, and Information "Abakus Plus," and the Bosnian National Theater in Zenica.

The preparation for the Festival has been ongoing since September, with the educational part starting from the Mountaineers' Day on March 7th, and the final stage and exhibition part planned for the first half of June, featuring eco-theater performances, recitations, songs, dances, folklore performances, as well as exhibitions of toys and works made from recycling, and artistic works on the theme of ecology and peace.

This is a major event that involves over 1000 participants through educational activities, while the final stage and exhibition part include 200 participants and around 500 expected guests at the Main Stage and foyers of the Bosnian National Theater in Zenica. Among the participants are children aged from 10 months to 12 years, parents, educators, experts, artists, students (youth), and senior citizens.

The specific goal of the event is to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the planet Earth and promoting peace worldwide, while the general goal is to encourage, develop, and promote the talents of children of early, preschool, and school age, as well as to strengthen their self-confidence.

Short video of the Festival 2022:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0Cg3Qtqdk

Short video of the Festival 2023:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOxNEP7JSHA

Eco-theater play "When Small Hands Join":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HATUHp6hQoc&t=233s

Eco-theater play "Who Loves the Planet, Collects and Separates Waste":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWS-PJ7pA0E&t=256s

Over its 15 years of operation, Kindergarten "Abakus" has organized over 60 cultural-public events. The Festival for Ecology and Peace "Children are the Guardians of the Planet and the World" (first edition in 2022) won the most prestigious award for educators in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the "Award for the Most Innovative Educators in 2022," from COI Step by Step, which allowed us to represent our Bosnia and Herzegovina at the prestigious global award Global Teacher Prize.

Our original ecological play "When Small Hands Join," as part of the Festival's content, was additionally awarded with three prizes at the Showcase of Dramatic Creativity of Kindergartens and Schools in ZDK: Award for collective play, Award for partner play, and the main Award for the best play of the competition overall.

The eco-theater play "Who Loves the Planet, Collects and Separates Waste" won two awards in 2023: Special award for exploring dramatic possibilities and the award for set design, made from 11,658 PVC caps, which we recycled and used for the set of the Eco-theater play about recycling.

After the preparatory and educational part of the Festival, the final stage and exhibition segment are planned, where a new ecological play "The Winter That Ran Away and Can't Seem to Come" (working title) will premiere. With this play, we aim to highlight the issue of global warming and provide recommendations on how we can reduce the warming of the planet Earth. Additionally, the play tells the story of Skočki Brzić, a skiing rabbit champion in alpine skiing for animals, who mourns the quickly passing winter and is again late after the change of all seasons. Alongside many other imaginative, beautiful, and engaging characters for children, we empathize with all professional skiers whose competitions were canceled this year, as well as other skiers who couldn't ski due to lack of snow.

As part of the theatrical program, and based on intercultural education and education for tolerance, we will showcase the culture and tradition of 15 countries around the world, including our own, through recitations, singing, acting, and traditional dances and games. Through this part of the Festival, we will send a message of peace and call for peace worldwide. Like in previous years, we expect excellent media attention. Besides numerous media sponsors, we will present the entire preparation, ongoing since September, and the realization on our social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.