Let's Do It World is a global civic organization that started from

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, 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 a global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is held annually on 20 September, and is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, ...

, on which a network of 180 countries, with over 21.2 million participants took place in 2019. First time in 2024 World Cleanup Day mobilises millions in its first year as a UN International Day. 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 Declaration of the United Nati ...

. 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 () 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 marked by volunteers ...

''. 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, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

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, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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 Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, the capital of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Slovenia,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, Ukraine,

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Slovenska vojska v okoljski akciji Očistimo Slovenijo 2012 (4).jpg,

Lets Do It Mediterranean action in Cyprus

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

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

, Kosovo 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

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 In 2008, the European Parliament introduced the European Citizen's Prize. It is intended to reward on an annual basis, individuals or groups who have particularly distinguished themselves in strengthening European integration by the expression of ...

* 2018: The UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development

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