Residents, civic volunteers and Scientology Volunteer Ministers take part in recurring neighbourhood actions focused on cleaner public spaces and shared responsibility
Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, 17th Sep 2026 — Residents and volunteers in Pordenone have continued a series of neighbourhood clean-up activities during September, bringing together people from different civic and community backgrounds to care for streets, green areas and shared public spaces across the northern Italian city.
The latest actions formed part of “Puliamo i Quartieri” — “Let’s Clean the Neighbourhoods” — a recurring local initiative that moves from one part of Pordenone to another and encourages practical participation in the upkeep of the urban environment.
On 5 September, volunteers gathered in the Borgomeduna area and worked along the banks of the Meduna and nearby green spaces. During the morning, participants removed 36.3 kilograms of discarded material, including plastics, glass, cigarette litter and larger abandoned items that had accumulated in the area.
The group included local residents, a volunteer connected with the Beato Odorico parish, a participant from Ripuliamoci Challenge and Scientology Volunteer Ministers.
One week later, the initiative continued around Largo Cervignano, Via San Vito and Via Latisana, where another group of residents and volunteers spent approximately 90 minutes clearing litter and abandoned material from streets and public areas.
That second clean-up resulted in a further 20.2 kilograms of waste being collected and separated for appropriate disposal.
Across the two consecutive September actions, volunteers removed 56.5 kilograms of material from public spaces while contributing their time to the maintenance and appearance of neighbourhoods used daily by residents.
A recurring approach to neighbourhood care
The significance of “Puliamo i Quartieri” lies not in a single large event, but in its continuity.
Rather than concentrating activity in one location or on one annual clean-up day, the initiative returns regularly to different neighbourhoods, allowing participants to address smaller areas in a practical and organised way.
This model also makes it possible for residents and members of different associations, communities and volunteer groups to work together without requiring a shared organisational background. The focus remains on a straightforward common objective: improving the places where people live, walk, meet and spend time.
The September activities illustrate that approach. In Borgomeduna, people associated with a Catholic parish, a civic environmental initiative and the Church of Scientology worked alongside local citizens on the same stretch of public space.
Such cooperation gives the project a broader community dimension. Environmental care becomes not only a question of waste removal, but also an opportunity for residents and volunteers to take shared responsibility for the quality of their surroundings.
Practical volunteering at local level
Scientology Volunteer Ministers have taken part in a number of community activities of this kind in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
The Volunteer Ministers programme was developed in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, with the purpose of providing practical assistance to people and communities facing everyday difficulties as well as larger emergencies.
While Volunteer Ministers are frequently associated with disaster-response work, the programme also places emphasis on local service and community support.
Its guiding principle, expressed in the motto “Something Can Be Done About It,” reflects the idea that individuals can take practical steps to improve conditions around them rather than remaining passive in the face of problems.
In Pordenone, that principle has taken a simple and visible form: joining other residents and volunteers in maintaining shared neighbourhood spaces.
The role of the Volunteer Ministers in these clean-ups is therefore part of a wider pattern of local participation rather than a stand-alone activity. Their involvement sits alongside that of other citizens and organisations contributing time and effort to the same civic objective.
Shared spaces and civic responsibility
Clean streets, green areas and riverbanks are among the most immediate elements of everyday urban life. Their condition affects residents regardless of age, background, religion or organisational affiliation.
Small-scale actions repeated over time can therefore have an effect beyond the quantity of material collected on any individual day. They can also encourage attention to public spaces, reinforce habits of civic participation and create opportunities for people who might otherwise have little contact with one another to work together.
Ivan Arjona, representative of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, OSCE, Council of Europe and United Nations, proposed the following comment:
“The value of initiatives such as this is found in people taking responsibility for the places they share. Caring for a street, a green area or a riverbank may be a simple act, but it reflects respect for neighbours, for the environment and for the wider community. When citizens from different backgrounds work side by side on something practical, they help strengthen the everyday civic life on which European communities depend.”
That emphasis on participation is particularly relevant to neighbourhood-level projects, where practical cooperation can often be more important than organisational identity.
The Pordenone clean-ups have brought together residents and volunteers with different affiliations around an activity that requires no complicated structure: identifying areas in need of attention, contributing time and effort, separating collected material and leaving the area in better condition.
Local action within a wider tradition of service
Community clean-ups are one of many forms of volunteer activity undertaken by Scientologists and Scientology Volunteer Ministers across Europe.
The programme established by L. Ron Hubbard was designed around practical assistance, including methods intended to help volunteers respond to personal difficulties, community needs and emergency situations.
Over time, Volunteer Ministers have participated in activities ranging from disaster relief to local community support, often working in coordination with other volunteer organisations, public services and civic groups.
In Pordenone, the September clean-ups represent the local end of that spectrum: modest in scale, direct in purpose and centred on the everyday environment shared by residents.
The continuation of “Puliamo i Quartieri” in different areas of the city also means that its value is cumulative. Each individual action addresses a defined location, while the broader initiative encourages a culture of participation that can continue from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.
The Church of Scientology, its missions, groups and members are present throughout the European continent, where Scientologists participate in religious, educational, prevention and community-betterment activities.
The Scientology religion was founded by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, whose works also inspired a number of social and humanitarian initiatives addressing areas including drug prevention, human rights education, moral education and volunteer service.
Across Europe, the Church and its affiliated organisations operate within a range of national legal frameworks, while recognition of Scientology as a religion and of Scientology organisations as bona fide religious or charitable bodies has continued to develop through judicial, administrative and governmental decisions in different European jurisdictions.
Through local initiatives and Church-supported social programmes, Scientologists contribute to activities focused on education, prevention, human rights awareness, community assistance and practical service.
Media Contact
Organization: European Office Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights
Contact Person: Ivan Arjona
Website: https://www.scientologyeurope.org
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Address: Boulevard de Waterloo 103
City: Brussels
State: Brussels
Country: Belgium
Release id: 49222
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