Let's Do It World is a global civic organization that started from
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, mobilizing people worldwide in joining local, national and regional clean-up events. Among other projects, it is the founder of
World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, the headquarters is located i ...
, on which a network of 180 countries, with over 21.2 million participants took place in 2019.
The Let's Do It! organization was first conceived in Estonia in 2008, where a country clean-up action called ''
Let's do it!'' (in
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
: "Teeme ära!") cleaned up tons of illegal waste by more than volunteers in one day. Following Estonia's lead, many countries also started their own country clean-up events.
Let's Do It! World is an accredited member of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
.
Since 2017, the movement uses the hand gesture W sign, aka "Three Fingers Up," as its symbol.
History
On 3 May 2008, over Estonians came out of their homes to clean up Estonia in an event called ''
Let's Do It 2008
Let's do it 2008 ( et, Teeme ära 2008) was a large campaign on 3 May 2008, to activate civic society in Estonia in an effort to cleanup the country from litter. It was organized by Let's Do It! World.
Preparation
The litter pickup spots were m ...
''. People at home could follow the process via media channels. The idea spread from Estonia to other parts of Europe and beyond. Next spring, in 2009,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
cleaned their countries with more than people participating and have done it henceforth for three years, engaging more people each year. On 20 March 2010,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
cleaned their country with people.
Slovenia followed shortly, breaking all records with people (which is 13% of the overall population of the country) taking part in the action. In the beginning of June the same year,
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, the capital of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
was cleaned.
By the end of 2011 more than 2.5 million people had participated in ''Let's Do It!'' cleanup actions in 16 countries – Estonia,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Slovenia,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, Ukraine,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
World Cleanup 2012
In 2012, starting from 24 March until 25 September, a series of cleanups happened around the globe, on all continents, bringing together millions of volunteers in 96 countries. The action was initiated on 24 March 2012 by volunteers in Estonia,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and Portugal.
To bring together doers and initiators and share existing experience – Let's Do It! teams were organizing workshops and regional gatherings, introducing the World Cleanup 2012 around the world. Each group or organisation was leading the cleanup action in their country.
Cleanup in Armenia.jpg, Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
Let's Do It! Bangladesh 2012.jpg, Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
Slovenska vojska v okoljski akciji Očistimo Slovenijo 2012 (4).jpg, Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
World Cleanup Day
After a successful World Cleanup 2012 project, the network set more ambitious goals. During the Let's Do It! Clean World Conference held in
Prishtina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
on 6–9 February 2014, it was agreed, that the aim of the global movement is to clean up the whole world from illegally dumped solid waste and to keep the planet clean. To reach this goal, the leaders of country cleanups set the ambitious goal to involve 380 million people by 2018. According to Let's Do It World, this is around 5% of the world's population and is estimated to be the amount to create a lasting change.
This resulted in the first
World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, the headquarters is located i ...
on 15 September 2018. Around 18 million people in 157 countries took part in this global cleanup effort. It has been organized annually since then.
Prize
* 2017:
European Citizens' Prize
* 2018:
The UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development
See also
*
National Cleanup Day
*
Voluntary ecological year
Voluntary may refer to:
* Voluntary (music)
* Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism
* Voluntary muscle contraction
See also
* Voluntary action
* Voluntariness, in law and philosophy
* Voluntaryism
Vol ...
*
World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, the headquarters is located i ...
References
External links
*
Official Youtube ChannelVideo about Let's Do It! EstoniaVideo about the global action - Let's Do It! World
{{Portal bar, Society, Environment
Organized events
Environmental organizations based in Estonia
Environmental volunteering
Organizations established in 2008