FinnDomingo e.V. had big plans in 2020. What happened to them?
Well, like many other people, we have spent time, energy and money saving our plans from the pandemic, unfortunately to no avail in most cases. Nonetheless, we have accomplished a few things and now we look to the New Year with confidence.
1. Exchange program: “Learning from each other: caring for animals in Germany and Chile”
Funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) was approved, but all activities planned in the program had to be canceled (meeting of employees of animal shelters, intercultural coaching, travel, study and work stays in Chile). Recently, the funding period has been extended by one year, that is, in January we will start planning again.
2. Donation campaign “With the racing bike for animal welfare”
The big rad am ring event from July 24 to 26, 2020 at the mythical Nürburgring, in which we wanted to participate with a team of four riders and an information booth, did not take place, of course, due to the pandemic. We are now registered again. If rad am ring takes place in 2021, we will be there and hopefully gain a lot of support for our work in Chile and Germany.
3. Internships for Chilean animal welfare activists in Germany
Invitations to Germany for Chilean animal welfare activists are an important part of our exchange program “Learning from each other”. This year there should have been two internships, one focussing on public relations and the other focussing on dog training. Needless to say, both had to be postponed to 2021 due to travel and contact restrictions.
4. Chile project coordination
However, what we managed to do, and with considerable success, was the working visit of our project coordinator in Chile. Being German, she was allowed to enter the country without any problem and then, after the PCR-test and a brief “quarantine”, she actively and efficiently joined the work of the strategic board. The results were:
- Working concept “Projects and activities in Chile and Germany 2021/2022”
- Internship at the Chemnitz animal shelter (Tierschutzverein Chemnitz und Umgebung e.V.)
- Internship with the German Federation for Animal Welfare (Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V.) and research at the Academy for Animal Welfare and the Head Office of this umbrella Association
5. Educational concept: “The Blue Dog” goes to Chile
Originally, FinnDomingo e.V. wanted to offer the bite prevention program “The Blue Dog” in a version adapted to Chilean conditions as ACLE in a school in Concepción starting March 2020. This time not because of the pandemic, but because of internal school issues, this plan had to be abandoned. How the project will continue in 2021 depends on whether we will manage to receive sufficient donations and funding. Any help is welcome!
6. On our way to the “Chilean Federation of Animal Welfare”
The fact that our project coordinator lives in Chile and is immersed in the daily life, language and mentality of the country is a fortunate and decisive circumstance for the success of the network “Chilean Federation of Animal Welfare”, that has been constantly growing. Of course, given the occasion, the grand national network meeting scheduled for October 2020 can only be held next year, but members of the network are already intensively exchanging ideas via social media and supporting each other in various ways. FinnDomingo’s role is to moderate, coordinate and also initiate many of the various activities.
7. Research: “Map of animal welfare in Chile”
Next year, the focus of our work will be on educational projects, as well as in the areas of lobbying, public relations and practical support for network members. However, as the first and most important task, we want to create a “map of animal welfare in Chile” that shows which groups work where, with what focus and under which circumstances in animal welfare. Since this inventory is urgently needed, we are planning a four to six week investigation on site in March / April 2021. Implementation and funding possibilities are currently under review.