The European Union hosted its first ever information session and family fun day in Belize City's Digi Park on Saturday.
The event, which saw participation from EU member states such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands, showcased the best and most unique of what Europe has to offer to an eager and inquisitive Belizean audience.
It also served to push participation in energy conservation and cast an eye to the future of vehicles that run on renewable energy sources instead of gas and diesel.
7 News was in the park along with the public and here's what we saw at EU in the park.
It was an afternoon of discovery, fun, and freebies at the DIGI park as the European Union hosted its first-ever EU-in-the-park information and family fun day.
At the helm of the celebration was EU Ambassador to Belize Marianne Van Steen who was enthusiastic about the turnout:
Marianne Van Steen, EU Ambassador to Belize
"I am truly excited about this because this is the very first time that we organize an event as big as this one. We have been partnering up with the country for the last 30 years and we have done lots of things um, some people may have seen the blue flag with the yellow stars but they may not really know what that flag really means so it is the European Union who is behind all of these little plates and we thought that we maybe had to tell the Belizean people a little bit what is the European Union, what do we stand for, what do we think is important. So we came up with this idea to do an event with children with families to get as many people as possible here in this lovely park in Belize City and here we are and I'm extremely happy with what I see."
And from flash mobs to yoga classes, and even a look at energy-friendly alternatives, Belizeans weren't shy about trying out everything that the EU had on offer.
Johan Verkammen, Ambassador Of Belgium
"I've seen that there is a lot of enthusiasm by the Belizean and certainly I am delighted to see so many children and young people coming to the booths that have been installed by the EU and by all the organizations that are funded and assisted by the EU. I see a lot of enthusiasm about all the themes that are put forward here today like environmentally friendly energy it's a lot about energy-friendly transportation. It's about the formation of people, artistic developments, um, it's about fun also, it's just a fun, fun event to spend a very pleasant Saturday afternoon and at the same time we are showing what the EU is doing here in Belize because we are a partner of Belize and we try to bring some good things to Belize and to the Belizean people."
And while most of the Ambassadors touring the tents aren't residents of Belize they had a new perspective on Belizeans through hands-on interaction.
Luigi De Chiara, Ambassador Of Italy
"I like it very much I think it's a great event it's my first visit to Belize so far I have had only official meetings and it's wonderful to be here in the park to meet the people and to meet the Belizean and to exchange and make a dialogue but also to see how many things the EU through its development cooperation program is doing in Belize."
And rounding off the event we saw Ambassador Van Steen join the Ministry of Public, Utilities, Energy, Logistics, & E-Governance to light up energy-efficient bulbs that the EU is pushing for more widespread energy conservation in the landscape of Belize's already negligible usage. Families who were at the park were given one each to take home.
And as the sun went down there was an infusion of art and joy by Belize's modern Dance company when they performed a dance to honor the occasion:
The EU in partnership with the Belize City Council is set to deliver two electric buses to Belize City by the end of the summer.
