That music can indeed help change society is not a new idea for EXIT, the award-winning music festival that started two decades ago as a youth movement for peace and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans.

Twenty years later, the Serbian Government has just adopted EXIT’s Green Я:Evolution initiative in which the Festival juggernaut, backed by several local environmental organizations, calls for the mass reforestation that will increase the country’s forest cover by almost 50%. The Serbian Government has begun developing strategic plans for countrywide mass planting actions according to which Serbia’s forest cover is expected to increase from the current 28% to at least 40% of the country’s total surface area. This increase means that the Government has pledged to perform mass reforestation in the years to come:

“Serbia is willing to do its share to fight climate change. We are committed to European Green Deal and with the support from our EU partners we hope to accomplish this very ambitious goal” said on this occasion Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić.

EXIT’s plans don’t stop there as this is considered only as the first step at home, while the true goal the festival has set is to push this initiative onto global level. Various scientific researches in recent years have shown that deforestation alone causes an increase in the total carbon dioxide emissions bigger than all the transportation put together! It is estimated that the planet reforestation increase from current 30% to at least 40% of Earth land surface could be a key factor along other efforts in fulfilling the global goal of Net Zero CO2 Emissions by 2050.

EXIT Festival has recently received the support of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the reforestation of Fruška Gora mountain in Serbia. In her open letter she highlighted that environmental protection is the highest priority of the European Union and announced the Green Deal initiative that aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent.

EXIT Festival’s environmental message has been at the forefront of its social activism since the start. After hosting activists from the Standing Rock tribe, twice, on its Main Stage, EXIT will give spotlight to activists from leading global environmental organizations in 2020 as well. The Festival will extend an invitation to youth from around the world to join the fight for the preservation of all life on Earth with the message that only united we can make a real change.

More on the Green Я:evolution can be found here.

We used to say, “Save the Planet”, while it is actually our civilization, not the planet, that will disappear if we do not drastically change the direction we are heading in. The Earth will continue to turn for a very long time after we disintegrate under the force of its self-defense. Before we started with agriculture more than 11,000 years ago, there were almost twice as many trees on the planet as there are today. As we increased in numbers, the number of trees decreased, at first very slowly, but alarmingly quickly today, like flames spreading over all the continents.

Research has shown that the total global forest loss has so far caused an increase in total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by as much as 25%, which is more than all traffic on planet Earth! Reforestation has been scientifically proven to be the simplest and most effective response to climate change and a reduction in global warming, as trees are the best natural air purifier and carbon dioxide absorber. In addition, reforestation, as the most favorable method of combating cleaner air, is available to countries with less developed economies. Nature conceived everything perfectly, a long time ago, it is up to us to hear it. According to the UN, it has been calculated that if a surface of 6% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface was reforested, it would be sufficient to absorb and neutralize most of the carbon dioxide emitted by humankind, thus almost halting the global warming process and significantly improving the quality of the air we breathe. This is why we urge all states to commence with the systematic, global reforestation, in every possible corner of our planet. After the industrial and technological, it is time for the Green Revolution!

It is high time for Serbia, as one of the countries with a serious pollution problem, to make a maximum effort and embark on massive reforestation. We call on the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and the relevant ministries, to commit themselves, through strategic documents, to the creation and implementation of a national plan whose first objective is to raise reforestation of Serbia from the current 28% to at least 40% of the total surface area of our country! At the same time, we are seeking to put a moratorium on logging forests and public green spaces, thus halting the further decline in reforestation. We want to extend this initiative to the neighboring countries, as our whole region is endangered and instead of being the greenest, in harmony with its nature, it, unfortunately, leads in Europe in terms of pollution.

Environmental protection is a top priority of the European Union and we are grateful for the support we have received from the European Commission President Ursula von der Lajen for the first reforestation activity. In this open letter, EXIT, the Student Parliament of the Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, the Nature Conservation Movement of Vojvodina, Supernatural, Recan Foundation, the Friends of the Forest and Defend the Forests of Fruška Gora groups have joined together, along with numerous artists and collaborators from Serbia and neighboring countries. Only together can we make a real change, and that is why we invite all citizens, scientists, engineers, athletes, artists, all organizations, media, public and private companies, local governments and all state institutions to come together to accomplish this greatest task in the history of our civilization.  This goal is above all ideological, racial, national, religious and political divisions. It is the most important of all goals, because without it there will be no other goal in the world.

EXIT festival, born two decades ago out of a need to change its own society, has always been known for working on numerous humanitarian and environmental projects, and for the last couple of years, the festival has put its promotional capacities into purpose with one paramount goal – to preserve life on our planet.

Green Я:Evolution is a large environmental platform born in November 2019, with the main goal to mobilize the public and initiate mass reforestation in the country, region and world, with the aim of planting over one million trees in the upcoming years in Serbia alone!

The first action was implemented in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia on November 23 on Fruška gora, where the first 13.000 oak trees were planted!

Another global ecological project from the Exit’s production called • LIFE STREAM was launched at the recently held Amsterdam Dance Event, where the audience from all over the world had an opportunity to learn scientifically proven and alarming facts about climate change, but also hear good news regarding environment preservation – all during the live stream of a famous DJ duo ARTBAT.