End Plastic, Build Peace
How a youth workshop in Pristina turned environmental action into international understanding
From 6 to 12 July 2026, the University of Pristina became a laboratory for ideas, cooperation and international understanding. Under the title “Plastic Soup in the City –The Impact of Urban Design on the Environment”, the Intercountry Committee Germany–Kosovo, led by Dr Heiner Grönewaldand Erik Mackinlay, brought together 25 young
people aged 18 to 25 from several European countries and Mexico.
Photo: ICC Germany–Kosovo.
The participants were united by a shared challenge: How can cities prevent plastic waste and littering instead of merely cleaning up their consequences? Four experts from Kosovo and Germany contributed perspectives from marine biology, architecture and urban planning. Guided by a professional facilitator from Switzerland, the young people used the Design Thinking method to develop practical proposals for improved waste collection and cleaner urban spaces.
Yet the workshop achieved much more than environmental education. Young people from different countries, cultures and personal backgrounds worked side by side, discussed openly, listened to one another and experienced how quickly strangers can become a team when they share responsibility for a common task. Excursions, local history, music, food and informal conversations added an important human dimension. Peace does not begin with declarations. It begins when people meet, overcome stereotypes and discover that cooperation is possible despite different experiences and viewpoints.
This is precisely where the special strength of Rotary’s Intercountry Committees becomes visible. They connect people across borders and turn international understanding into practical experience. The seminar combined two central Rotary priorities in a convincing way: protecting the environment and promoting peace.
A particularly encouraging sign of sustainability was the visit of three participants from the previous seminar in 2019. Their return showed that such encounters do not end with the closing session. They create relationships, memories and networks that continue to grow.
The Pristina workshop should therefore be more than a successful individual project. We want to advance comparable formats in other regions of Europe as well—especially where history, borders or current tensions make personal encounters particularly valuable. Bringing young people together around a shared challenge can create something lasting: ideas for a better environment, trust between nations and a new generation prepared to build peace.
Rotary Izmir Dokuz Eylül
District 2440, Turkey - Past District Governor
Past Rotary Public Image Coordinator
Turkish Rotary Magazine board member
Active member of the WASH and SRoF fellowships
TRF CADRE
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