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On the 5th of October, 2017, Wood-Mizer Europe participated in a Polish film festival dedicated to promotion the United Nation’s ’17 Goals’ program. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were signed by 193 heads of state in 2015, and the program consists of a global network of organizations dedicated to eliminating poverty by encouraging good business, ending hunger by promoting agriculture, enabling more access to education, etc. Goal number 15 is to ‘Sustainably Manage Forests…’
The Film Festival was open specifically to companies and NGOs in Poland to share how their organization was contributing to the success of the ’17 Goals’ program. 58 films were submitted in total, and 27 films were accepted for competition.
Wood-Mizer Europe submitted ‘Nasza Zielona Planeta’ (Our Green Planet - https://youtu.be/nE-p-bY610I). The film’s big questions and real-life examples resonated well with the audience, and was voted ‘People’s Choice’ award at the event, along with Third Place overall in the general judging.
The short video presents the problems encountered by developing markets with vast forest resources but an inability to responsibly and sustainably access the timber. This combination then contributes to continuing deforestation and illegal logging. Wood-Mizer’s video asks the question, “What can one person do?”
The problem is personified by three different individuals who faced tremendous obstacles. In Africa, a missionary saw scrap pine being wasted since there was no efficient way of converting low quality wood pieces into something usable. In the Philippines, the government’s war against illegal logging has resulted in tens of thousands of cubic metres of confiscated timber, which was quickly rotting in piles dotted all over the Philippines. In Northern England, a farmer was desperately looking for ways to keep his farm profitable while continue to do the kind of work he loved.
And their solutions all included Wood-Mizer sawmills. The missionary installed a small, affordable sawmill and began converting the scrap wood into components to build beehives – the foundation for a beekeeping program that is helping thousands of Zambians build a better life for their families. Instead of letting the timber rot, the Philippines government has used 12 mobile Wood-Mizer sawmills to process the confiscated timber into approximately 150,000 school desks for needy rural schools. And the farmer was able to start a timber business with a mobile sawmill, keeping the farm income steady and sustainable for his family’s future.
Official Press Release - http://www.17celow.pl/laureaci-ii-edycji-2017.html
17 Goals Website - http://17goals.org
