Ask Not What the Nation Shall Do for You — A 2026 Commitment to Action

As 2026 unfolds, I find myself returning to this timeless call—not as a slogan, but as a personal challenge. This year is a moment to redefine our collective responsibility in the face of climate change, environmental degradation, and the urgent need to unlock opportunities for young people. The global context makes this clearer than ever. With growing unilateralism, major geopolitical shifts, and decisions such as the withdrawal of the United States from dozens of UN agencies, resources for climate and development work are tightening. Programs are shrinking. Priorities are shifting.

But crises have always revealed something important: waiting is no longer an option. This is the moment for proactive citizenship—where individuals and community-led institutions step forward, not to replace governments or global systems, but to complement them with action rooted in place, purpose, and accountability.

Turning Commitment into Practice

For me, 2026 marks a clear turning point in how I seek to finance and deliver programs within Forezava. Value for money has always been central to our work, but the deeper focus now is on turning available opportunities into usable resources. Not chasing funding alone, but building systems that generate value, resilience, and long-term impact.

This year, I am personally committing to the development of 100 beehives as part of a structured beekeeping initiative—one that supports biodiversity, strengthens livelihoods, and reinforces the quiet but powerful role of pollinators in our food systems.

Alongside this, I am doubling down on the management of our seed library, with renewed emphasis on indigenous seeds. Farmers will continue to borrow seeds with a clear expectation: return seeds after harvest so the cycle continues. This is how we fight waste, protect biodiversity, and reclaim food sovereignty—one season at a time.

Skills That Produce, Not Just Consume

Our work in technical and technological skilling will continue with even greater urgency. I am convinced that the future lies in practical, production-oriented skills—especially for young people.

There are real opportunities in:

• Woodwork and metalwork

• Plastic recovery and reuse

• Miniaturized manufacturing and fabrication

• Precision technologies such as laser cutting and 3D printing

These are not abstract ideas. They are tools for building customized solutions for farmers, fabricating locally relevant technologies, and turning waste into value.

In a country where consumption often dominates aspiration, I am choosing to stand firmly on the side of production.

Seed to trees.
Seed to crops.
Plastic waste to functional, 3D-printed materials.
Customized tools for farmers.
Wood and metal transformed into durable products that add value to our ecosystem—while we continue planting trees and restoring landscapes.

From Words to Undeniable Action

This year, my resolve is simple: to create value and impact not through rhetoric, but through undeniable action. Action that can be measured. Action that can be replicated. Action that invites others to participate.

Which brings me to a question I keep asking myself—and now extend to my friends, peers, and fellow citizens:

Will you follow suit?
What will you do—however small—to contribute a piece of yourself toward a better society?

The challenges before us are enormous. But so is our collective capacity to respond. 2026 is not the year to ask for permission. It is the year to show up, build, repair, plant, fabricate, and create.

Ask not what the nation shall do for you.
Decide what you will do—for the nation, for the planet, and for the generations yet to come.

About Author: Kevin Makova