The Sights and Sounds of Russia

Here is the article I wrote for the Frontiersman about my recent trip to Russia for a Youth Environmental conference. Take a look!

On a muggy mid-August day, six Alaskan youth arrived after a 24-hour flight to the Moscow International Airport. Eagerly making our way through customs were six Alaskan teenagers: two from Anchorage, two from Ketchikan, one from Fairbanks and me, a Wasillian. Sleepy-eyed and sore as we were, had an air of excitement about us, and for very good reason. We would be spending the next 10 days meeting with other youth from the world’s other northern regions and discussing ecological problems of the present and the future.

The event was the 4th Annual Youth Ecological Forum, created by The Northern Forum. Past years have been hosted in Alberta, Canada; Hokkaido, Japan; and Akureyri, Iceland. The Northern Forum decided upon Khanty-Mansiysk - an autonomous “okrug,” or district – in western Siberia for the 2006 Eco-Forum. This year’s chosen theme focused on Oil and the Environment.

As we began our Russian experience with three days in Moscow, we took in essential tourist sights, including St. Basil’s Church in Red Square as well as the grave of Lenin, the Armory and the Diamond Fund. Even the sweltering heat didn’t keep us from exploring The GUM, a famous mall in Red Square. Later, we met fellow Forum participants from various northern world regions: youth from Canada, Iceland, Japan and St. Petersburg all began their travels in the historic city.

After several urban excursions, the group of now 18 northern youth made our way - by a considerably shaky plane ride - to Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia. The region is a principal center for Russia’s booming oil industry and made a perfect place for the forum to focus on the oil industry and its environmental effects. The Russian participants, numbering over 200 in all, greeted us upon arrival. Many more excursions were to follow, to locations such as the province’s Geology, Oil and Gas Museum and Research Institute of Information Technologies. The Forum quickly became a multilingual experience for the 230 participants, as most of them spoke Russian. Translators accompanied groups to nearly every event as to ensure opportunities to learn and participate for all.

The Northern Forum established the Youth Eco-Forum as not only a way for the youth of northern regions to discuss environmental issues, but to raise cultural awareness and understanding. Each delegation presented to the group about the culture and environment of their respective regions. Participants were able to find common ground with each other, and soon found that language barriers did not have to keep them from having fun and making friends. In the evenings, delegates of all cultures and languages could be found lounging in the hotel lobbies together, exploring the sights of downtown Khanty-Mansiysk, or just making a quick run to the nearest 24-hour store.

We also had the chance to ride down the Ob river where we admired the beautiful sights, sang karaoke – the Western delegates were happy to teach the Russian teens the art of the YMCA dance – and threw pennies over our shoulders where the rivers converged for good luck. On the last night, the Forum held the closing ceremonies at a dance club and, after breaking a sweat on the dancefloor, we enjoyed a spectacular fireworks display set to music.

In the culmination of the fun and learning-filled week, the participants split into separate groups simulating real-life organizations, such as the government, mass media, and education system. In these groups we presented our plans to work with the other branches of society in together promoting ecological culture in the population. These ideas, refined through discussion, became the resolution of the IV International Ecological Youth Forum.

Included in the resolution was an agreement to promote ecological awareness through TV shows, radio and the internet, encourage better environmental education in all levels, and government support of local-level ecological organizations.
The 2006 Youth Eco-Forum was a gathering of the world’s northern teens to address environmental issues. But more than that, it was a way for cultural barriers to be broken and international connections created - and that is the first step to effecting real change in the future of the environment and the people of the world.