Albanian NGO ‘EDEN Center’ (Environmental Center for Development Education and Networking) approached this project from the ambitious angle of awareness-raising on mercury pollution and the Mercury Treaty through youth networks, media and especially social media. EDEN produced a mini-documentary canvassing the views of ordinary Albanians in the city of Tirana, gauging their awareness level of mercury pollution and disseminating information to help inform the public of this hazardous pollutant and global attempts to control its distribution and use through the Treaty process. EDEN also conducted extensive outreach to youth related organisations though its teams of volunteers and social media. Engagement with authorities managing mercury policy issues also proved fruitful, with acknowledgement from authorities that they intend to ratify the Mercury Treaty in the near future and would welcome further awareness-raising activities by EDEN. While it proved challenging for EDEN to gain permission for public presentation of their documentary, they nonetheless held screenings and advertised this resource through social media such as YouTube.
