April 17, 2021
On April 17th our Slovakian Partner Human Health Institute focused on the Danube as part of the Clean Rivers Experience - Clean Danube Experience, in which sportsmen of Kajak & kanoe klub Komárno (the most successful section of speed canoeing in Slovakia) and activists from Hungary, KÖSZ (Kisvárosi Önkéntes Szemétszedők) took part.
They teamed up with organizations to highlight the importance of protecting the environment and linking the idea of living consciously, pointing out that not only families but also sportsmen care about a clean environment, that sportsmen also value and appreciate when they can train in a clean environment, and that they care about the watercourses in what condition they are.
The main idea of the project and involvement in a joint activity within the Human Health Institute n.o. is to raise awareness of the benefits of implementing an ecological way of behaving within a sports club.
"Our goal is not only to educate children to enjoy sports, but also a general acquaintance with the basic values of our club. Ethical acting is the key to the long-term prosperity of a company. Respecting ethics is a manifestation of responsibility towards all people around us and thus allows us to have a positive impact for the benefit of society as a whole. ” - Viktor Demin, Chairman of the Kajak & kanoe klub Komárno and multiple champion of Slovakia, European and World Champion.
Taking care of our surroundings is one of the basic and at the same time most important values that the club has at its disposal. The protection of values and their spreading is a priority for all club members. Our main goal is also to inform that physical activity keeps humanity in good and healthy shape and prolongs human life. In any case, the conservation of natural resources is essential for maintaining a clean environment and maintaining its good condition for future generations.
See us in action
For this reason, on April 17, we organized the cleaning of banks of water areas around the town of Komárno (SK) and Komárom (HU). With joint efforts, we managed to collect dozens of bags of garbage.
As part of the ecological program, sportsmen in Komárno have replaced all standard rubbish bins with bins suitable for the collection of sorted waste, and composting of municipal waste is also planned.
Furthermore, all sports events organized by the club will be held in an environmentally sustainable manner, including the collection and recycling of empty beverage cans.
he first event was attended by 25 volunteers and they have collected 40 of 240 liter bags of waste, which means about 10 cubic meters of waste, and at the second meeting they have filled another 17 of these bags with 4-5 cubic meters of waste that was sorted out.
In this way, the Szőnyi Islands and the surrounding area were cleaned of a total of 15 cubic meters of waste.
We are convinced that, thanks to the strength of the international characteristics of sports, which bridges ethical and cultural differences, it is particularly suitable for bringing groups of people closer together and for strengthening a sense of belonging within society and move society towards zero-waste and permanent sustainability.