In a few days, the new Miss Earth will be crowned and Missosology talked with Miss Earth Norway Britt Roselyn Rekkedal. Here, she shared her experiences in one of the four major beauty pageants in the world!
1.) So you were appointed as the beautiful delegate for Miss Earth Norway, congratulations! Now you are in Vienna, Austria? Who are your room mates?
My roommates are the beautiful Miss Northern Ireland, Ghana and Kosovo.
2.) What was your reaction when you were asked to represent Norway at Miss Earth? What did you do to prepare?
I didnt expect to be asked so I were kind of shocked in the beginning, then I started thinking about the pros and cons. Since I were working and living in the Philippines at the time and would have very short amount of time to prepare. But I have had quite a bit of training and have joined quite a few pageants in the last couple of years so I desided to push through with it. And I have not regretted it since. I have made some great friends here that will always have a special place in my heart and I am having a great time here in Vienna. To prepare I had to make a lot of deals with people in the Philippines for sponsorships of gowns, getting customized pageant shoes and getting a pageant trainer. Luckily it was pretty easy for me to get the video and the photo requirements done since I used to go to a film school in Cebu.
3.) Tell us about your national costume, what does it symbolize?
My national costume is very precious to me since it was my aunt who has embroided and assembled it together from scratch. So I am very proud and happy that I have been able to show her work to everyone and have gotten a lot of compliments from it.
4.) What environmental activities have you been involved in before and after being appointed?
A few days back I was actually lucky enough to present my advocacy in front of the UN. Us Europeans does not really experience the extreme dangers of climate change compared to Africa or Asia. We hear about it daily in the news but we kind of forget that we actually are indirectly contributing to the climate change by not recycling properly, not using public transport or using or repurposing a lot of the stuff we buy. So we in Miss Earth have started a new hashtag and facebook page to open up forums and discussions where we can present and share knowledge on things we can change and do in our daily routines to help slowing down climate change. We will use our Miss Earth platform to promote this when we post pictures of all our events. We are only in the starting fase of this since we dont have much free time. But I am really proud of this project and I believe it can become something great one day. We all have the same goal and that is to stop climate change. Remember that our generation are the first generation to experience the effects of climate change and we are the last ones to do something about it.
5.) Why do you think you were selected, and what will you do to bring glory to Norway, and possibly be the first Miss Earth from Norway?
I think I was selected to be the Norwegian representative because of my experience with previous pageants and I know how things works. I will do my best to bring home the crown, I am constantly and diligently working everyday towards this goal and I feel very strongly towards my advocacy so I want to work hard to be able to promote it.
6.) Out of all of the delegates, who do you admire the most at Miss Earth?
I have two delegates whom I admire, they are my two good friends Miss Northern Ireland and Miss Mauritius. They both work very hard while staying true to themselves. They are beautiful inside and out, they are funny and honest and I really appreciate having gotten to know them and for them being my best friends here.
7.) What activities are you looking forward to the most?
The activity that I was looking forward to the most was the UN seminar that we had and that I got to share with them my ideas and having them answer my questions about climate change and about their projects were very humbling and nice to experience. And other than having made such good friends, this meeting has been my favorite part. Brainstorming, discussing and listening to some of the delegates country’s problems and possible solutions that we could do was fascinating.
8.) Who designed your gown, and why did you select it?
Elmer De Venancio is the name of the designer who made my finale dress. I chose it because it is absolutely gorgeous and it fits me like a glove.
9.) Where will you see yourself after Miss Earth, in five years?
I have no idea what I will be doing in five years time, I like living in the moment and grabbing every opportunity to travel the world, so I must honestly say that I don’t know.
10.) Do you believe that contestants for Miss Earth can actually make the global change that “beauties for a cause” promotes? Why or why not?
Yes of course I do, If not I would not have joined. I believe that what the world needs right now is for people to wake up and become aware of what each individual can do to help slow down climate change. We help reach out to a large scale of various people around the world to shed light on various problems like deforestation, water pollution and air pollution while promoting the beauty of this world. Till now we have planted trees, used a lot of public transport here in Vienna and later we are going to collect waste that has washed up from the ocean. We are doing this to inspire young people to do the same for their communities and having a lot of fun at the same time.
11.) Any messages for your fans?
I would like to thank everyone for supporting me, it truly means a lot to me. And last but not least look into things you could help your community with. Think of what good you could do in your community for like 1-3 hours a week instead of watching TV or being on your computer. If it is to teach kids how to sort out waste or to pick up trash in your area. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do, but just do something! Lead as a good example for our youth and re use, reduce, recycle, rethink and respect.
