Bringing the ‘Out of Sight’ into Focus
This year’s MoodhuMaakandu Festival was held at AA. Rasdhoo on 8th April 2017.
The IDEAS stall at MoodhuMaakandu Festival mainly focused on the issue of plastic pollution. Through an interactive game, the participants got to engage in dialogue about the threats faced to ecosystems and marine life due to plastic pollution. (Read our article about ocean pollution here).
The idea is simple. While throwing out pieces of plastic and other trash may not seem like a big deal (out of sight out of mind), more often than not they end up in the ocean. We wanted to talk about the ‘out of sight’ bit. What actually happens out of sight?
We set up a bin surrounded by drawings of ocean life to represent what is at stake when plastic lands in the ocean instead. Nearby, we set up a slingshot and a catapult and asked the participants to try and land the trash in the bin. This was our idea of a metaphor for the difficulties faced in the Maldives to properly deal with our plastic waste without getting in the ocean.
Most of the tries landed outside the bin and this gave us ample opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about what it means to have plastic land in the ocean!
At IDEAS we value these interactions as we believe that the root of change lies in education. Thank you IUCN for the opportunity to engage with students.
