Foreldreløftet and Tønsberg Søppelplukkerlag cleans Tønsberg in Norway’s first Social Friday

Volunteers from all age groups and nations gather in Gunnarsbøparken to clear the park of garbage.

All volunteers had equipment from the municipality of Tønsberg, Tønsberg Garbage Pickers and Social Friday and collected over 10 garbage bags with clutter from the city center.

Representatives from both organizations met the founder of Social Friday, Fikret Zendeli from North Macedonia to clean up Gunnarbøparken, the swimming pool and the area up to Tønsberg Torv.

Foreldreløftet consists of mothers, fathers, bonus parents, siblings, sponsors, friends. In short, the whole parental generation, without having to have children to take part in the Parent Promise. The parental promise was started in 2019 because we lacked an initiative that could engage all adults across Norway to support the children and young people in the climate uprising.

Veslemøy Klavenes-Berge founder of Foreldreløftet said: “It is not enough to bring about the structural changes needed in society to achieve these goals, and it is not happening fast enough. That is why we need a massive mobilization of the entire population. The adult generation constitutes those with the most power towards politicians, businesses and other decision-makers. If we want to have a good future for all our children, we must use the power we have in society.”

Tønsberg Garbage picking team has now written 4 years and we have picked an average of approx. 2 tonnes of plastic and waste annually in municipal streets, roads and new places except the center where the Church City Mission is responsible.

The activity brought together 30 people from 4 different generations gathering for two common goals – a cleaner environment and awareness of change!