By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Creating awareness of environmental and sustainability issues through free programming for all ages, the Green Nation Fest returns for its second edition on September 6th and will run through September 14th at the Museu da República in Catete. The festival’s activities will include seminars, workshops, films and interactive displays.
“To have a more sustainable world, it is necessary to educate people in a playful way,” director of Green Nation Fest, Marcos Didonet said in a prepared statement, adding, “the Green Nation [Fest] intends to do this by using themes that are accessible like sports, cinema, theater, and fashion.”
The festival’s interactive displays will include seven full immersion installations. First, the “World of Ideas that Change the World” experience helps visitors to understand how every action taken in the world affects the planet and the people and life forms on it, while the “Diving into the Sea” display includes a green submarine that simulates an undersea adventure, helping visitors to learn more about marine life and the dangers of water pollution.
Then, on the “Nave Especial” guests go on a special simulated interactive ride on Rio de Janeiro’s Rio Guandu, learning about river currents and the reason why the river and keeping it clean is important to the city. At the “Grandma Mary’s House in Nova Friburgo” installation, visitors can learn the causes of landslides and what steps can be taken to prevent them.
Then, on the “Elevator ride” experience, users take a trip to Rio’s past, present and future to better understand steps that could be taken to preserve and improve the environment. During the “Ecopista” experience, guests are encouraged to dance and move around parts of the installations in order to learn more about energy, what is takes to generate it and how it can be used. Finally, at “Arremesso”, visitors learn about recycling and upcycling, by taking “waste” material like plastic bottles and paper and re-purposing them to make new useful and creative items.
Additionally the Green Nation Fest, will host seminars each day from the 8th through the 12th and will include a presentation by keynote speaker, Céline Cousteau on September 11th at 2PM.
Granddaughter of the legendary ocean explorer, conservationist and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, Céline Cousteau is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council on Oceans and founder and executive director of the NGO (non-governmental organization), CauseCentric Productions.
Another section of the festival, the Mostra Internacional de Cinema (International Film Show) , will feature fifteen films and documentaries, from both Brazilian and international filmmakers, whose themes focus on preserving the environment. Six of the films will make their Brazilian debut and two will mark their premiere in South America.
Green Nation Fest is presented by Centro de Cultura, Informação e Meio Ambiente – CIMA (Center for Culture, Information and Environment), an NGO that has for over twenty years partnered with private and governmental institutions.
The first Green Nation Fest took place in 2012 shortly before the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as Rio+20. Held at Quinta da Boa Vista, in Zona Norte (North Zone) of the city, the premiere edition of the festival featured many special guests and speakers and included visits by the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes; Achim Steiner, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, and UNEP Goodwill ambassador, actress and model, Gisele Bündchen.
What: Green Nation Fest 2014
When: September 6th through 14th, 2014
Where: Museu da República, Rua do Catete, 153, Catete, RJ
Entrance: FREE