Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The first-ever international "Green Graffiti" festival arranged by the International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) campaign as part of the "environmental art" project to keep the harmony between the environment and art took place in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on May 12.

The project aims to inform and increase public awareness about global environmental issues by means of graffiti art. Young people from Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the United Kingdom participated in the festival.

Participants delivered their messages on environmental issues by drawing different paintings on special stands installed in one of the central parts of Baku.

The festival organized by IDEA aimed to emphasize the importance of environmental protection and to attract people's attention to these issues by means of graffiti art.

The festival also provided a great opportunity to young artists to create and promote a new direction in their creative activities. More than 80 young people applied to take part in the festival. Participants were selected in April.

IDEA Campaign has been promoting innovative approaches to the solution of environmental problems since its establishment on July 12, 2011 by the Vice President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva.

IDEA is based on the principles of dialogue, action, leadership and education -- all essential components for equipping a generation to foster positive and sustainable environmental change. The campaign is mainly focusing on the power of youth and considers it as an important tool to change the way we behave and consume our surrounding natural world.

The Campaign mission includes creation of a real and virtual community of young people regionally and internationally, with a shared passion for the environment, nurturing virtual community through an open dialogue which provides information, inspiration and practical calls for environmental actions, as well as empowering each member of the community to become an ambassador and leader for local environmental awareness and action.