3rd YEP Meeting in Zurich
It was 11am when nine Young Explorers met at the giant clock at Zürich Main Train Station. Each YEP had travelled far to be there, the Swiss came from Lörrach, Chateau D´Oex, Termen and Basel and the German YEP's came from as far as Darmstadt, Stuttgart and Freiburg!
After meeting up, we organized ourselves into groups and went out into the city to spread the Pangaea message, distribute flyers about the Young Explorers Program and raise awareness about the Pangaea Shark Project.
Our main objective for this particular YEP meeting was to raise awareness about the 100 million sharks that are killed every year worldwide. We informed the local population about the unnecessary slaughter of sharks, the majority brutally killed for their fins only, and told them facts about these important yet fragile predators that inhabit two thirds of our planet. We had no idea what to expect, but when we approached random passers-by we got into some very interesting discussions and met with a wide range of nationalities, such as people from the USA, Israel and even Chile!
YEP meeting participant Rebecca Berker reports, "A lot of people still see Sharks as 'dangerous and unfriendly' and as 'useless man-eating predators'. Sadly the general public is still widely influenced by horror movies and media that thrive in keeping the myths alive and spreading wrong information. By telling people the real truth about sharks, Pangaea can contribute to reducing the consumer demand for shark meat, especially that of the shark fin, used in the traditional Chinese dish of Shark Fin Soup. As long as people believe that sharks are dangerous predators, we won’t be able to save them. Considering the crucial role that they play in the balance and health of the marine ecosystems, and the fact that less than 15 people die as a result of a shark bite every year worldwide, the meaningless and wasteful slaughter of millions of sharks makes no sense."
Overall it was a successful meeting with the YEPs and a lot of fun and interesting new acquaintances were made.
Stay tuned and join us – Save the sharks!!
www.mikehorn.com and www.pangaea4sharks.com