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After two months spent in Pivara Skopje, we left richer with one great experience. We were both interns in the Public Relations and Communications Department under the mentorship of the Public Relations and Communications Manager and the Manager for Corporate Communications, to whom, on this occasion we express our gratitude for the unselfish support in the realization of the sector tasks and projects and all the knowledge and experience they have brought us through the practice, an experience that has prepared us for future challenges.
The Public relations department is extremely dynamic, even when it is about current daily tasks. Additionally, activities and projects that are part of the company strategy for socially responsible action in the community are planned.
We were a part of such an activity, and the point of this text is to share our experience with everyone, especially with the future interns, warmly recommending practice in Pivara Skopje.
It is about an ecological volunteer action for cleaning Matka, which, although may have seemed like a spontaneous and simple gathering of volunteers, behind its successful realization hides an excellent organization, teamwork and dedication.
This concrete action conducted under the motto “Are you recycling?” is one of the ecological-volunteer actions that Pivara Skopje implements in partnership with Pakomak and the Dutch Embassy in Macedonia. And, for the first time this year the British Embassy and divers from Speleological Society “Vrelo” were involved, which were responsible for the removal of inorganic waste from the bottom of the lake.
Ten days prior to the action, all employees of Pivara Skopje were notified electronically and in writing about the action, as well as the ways of applying. We must admit that we were pleasantly surprised by the response of volunteers who reached 1/3 of the total number of employees.
We knew the location in advance, but the whole logistics: food, drinks, transport, t-shirts, gloves, waste collection bags, as well as media support was an obligation of our sector.
The process of preparing and implementing an action like this is complex and requires a lot of time and attention. We, as practitioners who were part of the project, were fully involved in the organization, and solving problems that occur unexpectedly. The main problem that we faced was the transportation of the volunteers. Because of the construction work on the road, which on the day of the action unexpectedly progressed precisely on the part of the road that we were going to cross, the access to the determined location by bus was disabled, so at the last moment an alternative solution had to be found. But thanks to the quick response, the problem was solved, and volunteers arrived at the location with minibuses and vans. The organization of the event also included food and drink, so our volunteers could recover their energy after a strenuous four-hour action. In addition to all participants, T-shirts with the “Are you recycling?” logo were printed, as well as for foreign diplomats – the ambassadors of Britain and the Netherlands and their teams. Taking into account the weather forecast for the day of the action, Pivara Skopje also provided raincoats for all its volunteers, a decision that proved to be a complete hit considering the rainy weather that awaited us at the beginning, and remained throughout the whole duration of the action. On the day of the event, everyone knew their responsibilities. The team from the Department for Public Relations and Communications was divided into two teams. One team arrived earlier on the site in order to check and prepare the ground; to determine the start location, to prepare the section for the media conference, to direct the catering service, the media and, of course, the Red Cross teams that had the task of intervening and providing first aid in case of an accident or injury to some of the participants.
At the same time, it was needed full coordination with Pakomak for the places where waste containers, gloves and waste collection bags should be positioned.
The second team remained in the premises of Pivara Skopje, where, in the hall of the administrative building, half an hour before departure, all volunteers were given t-shirts with adequate size and raincoats.
Upon arrival, a press conference was held at the pre-determined location where the General Director of Pivara Skopje, Jovan Radosavljevic, the Customer Care Manager from Pakomak – Iko Bradarkovski, the Dutch Ambassador, Vauter Plomp and the British Ambassador Charles Garrett gave statements, expressing its pleasure to participate in the action. As well as the enthusiasm for more similar actions in the future in the interest of raising awareness among all stakeholders in the society for the preservation of the environment.
The action started immediately after. The volunteers were given bags and cleaning gloves, after which the group split up in order to clean all accessible surfaces, including the section on the other side of the Treska River. On the road there were placed several points with spare gloves and waste bags, as well as beverages for refreshment of the volunteers. The Red Cross crews were constantly present and at any time ready to intervene.
To capture the best moments of the action, a professional photographer was also appointed who constantly followed the volunteers.
After the ending of the action, we thanked all the volunteers for their participation in the action and we returned them safely to Pivara Skopje.
But, our work did not end there. After returning to the office, we had to choose the best photographs that reflected the working atmosphere. Which, were later used to communicate to the employees and, of course, to the public on all the social profiles and the website of Pivara Skopje and together with the press release to be delivered to the media outlets. After the announcement in the media, all the reactions and comments from the public were followed. During the next day, we had a follow up meeting in order to summarize all the impressions of the action: ‘did everything work according to the plan?’, ‘what problems occured?’ and ‘how can we overcame them?’ and from that to learn more about future actions.
All of this was an extraordinary and wonderful experience for us, because we gained practical knowledge about how one event is organized. We saw how the team works and we realized that good team work always brings good results.