12th of March

It was a loooooong , full of fun, but also quite tiring day for us.We danced alot, blowed balloons alot, huged alot, singed alot, ran alot, jumped alot, drew alot, interwieved SOME, took photos alot, smiled alot, felt the cold alot,got attention alot , played games alot, laughed alot, got fresh air alot,got famous in Bratislava alot, did not sleep alot, finally got potatoes alot. Although we were so tired as we went to beds to sleep, we all were soooo happy and satisfied because of having such a productive day and participating to change the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

We Are The World

There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretneding day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Undina and Fatih ( From Latvia and Turkey)

Bratislava streetaction!!!

Today, after few hours of preparation, 50 crazy and sober people went to the city center of Bratislava and things started to happen.

It's too difficult to put it into the words, therefore it will be in photos:)

FREE YOUR MIND!!!




Patrick (Slovakia)



Kristine (Latvia) & Bledi (Albania)



Preparing the traditional dances

Ballons with human rights

Kristina (Slovakia) & Bledi (Macedonia)

Janika (Estonia) & Lazjon (Albania)

Gabriela (Sweden), Max (Germany), Eliina (Estonia), Rosi (Germany)



No drugs, more hugs

Max (Germany) & Hilde (Norway)

People getting ballons with human rights

Traditional dances from different countries

Traditional dances from different countries

Hilde (Norway)

Meelis (Estonia) & Helena (Sweden)

Kristine, you are the sunshine of my life!

From your secret friend who loves you and your contagious Latvian laughter :)

The Active Song

Many participants have heard the Active song for the first time today, so here are the lyrics for further practice:

Come and sit by me
Take my hand carefully
Dream my dream internationally
Make believe the world are we

One hand goes a yard
And twentyfive can't reach as far
As a million people's hands
Throughout the globe in every land

We can break the chain
We can ease somebody's pain
Our fight won't be in vain
And we'll do it again and again
(repeat 3. verse)

Come and sit by me
Take my hand carefully
Dream my dream internationally
Make believe the world are we

Today Pierre Andersson held a lecture on the implications of the alcohol industry's economic activities in developing countries.

Ideas for themes for the street action in Bratislava tomorrow

Happy Estonians

We're Watching You!

In Europe there are several networks and organisations that deal with alcohol policies and who work for the reduction of alcohol-related harm. The alcohol industry is strong, but they can't do whatever they want. If they are crossing a line, there will be repercussions. Because we are watching them.

But what about those parts of the world that do not have a long history of "alcohol culture"? Globalization is not passing them by and particularly developing countries with large populations are an interesting market for the alcohol industry. But they have no protective network to fall back on, no infrastructure of organisations that can have an eye on the moves the western alcohol giants make. And the alcohol industry is shamelessly abusing this by targetting these countries with aggressive marketing strategies.

So maybe it is time for us to start looking a bit further than our own boarders and to expand our networks. The alcohol industry is working hard to maintain a "clean" image in Europe, but on other continents they are breaching all the rules that they continuously claim to play by. And once again those people who are already born with less opportunities than others are the ones who have to suffer. Let's stop this vicious cycle and let the alcohol industry know: We're watching you!

(For further information on this topic watch the 17min documentary "Global Hangover" or go to ADD - Alcohol, Drugs and Development, Global Alcohol Policy Alliance and the WHO.)

A hug from me

Today we were discussing how to free our minds, because then the rest would follow. One idea was to hand out balloons with human rights, another one was to give out free hugs. The great thing about the concept of free hugs is that they are for free, but yet they have a great value. The advantages are that hugs are easy to give, not very time-consuming and it can be so nice. But a hug is a quite intimate action. Not everyone enjoys hugging (pressing their body against another, perhaps unknown, body). This is also a question of culture since some cultures are more huggy than others. To hug is to offer a part of your personality, but also to respect the other person's private space. More hugs to the people!