“Water Matters” is the slogan of the newly launched campaign “Increase of knowledge on the Importance of the Good Water Status”. The Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters (IMBRIW) of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) is the entity that implements this project, funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway Grants).
This is a campaign awareness project whose aim is to initially inform students, local communities and visitors, on the islands of Santorini, Ios, Leros, Kalymnos, Pserimos and Telendos, about the pressures on water bodies, as well as to strengthen the understanding on the importance and value of water resources.
Through the application of various educational, informative and experiential activities (creation of digital material, educational training, experiential field activities, cultural activities, dissemination and promotion on social media, workshops, science cafe, etc.), the need to improve the environmental status of aquatic ecosystems by reducing the adverse impacts of pollution and anthropogenic activities will be highlighted.
The project seeks to contribute to the cooperation between public, private and social stakeholders, as well as primary and secondary education units in the target areas, so as to cultivate knowledge and practices towards an integrated management of water resources as a necessary condition to maintain and improve water status.
The campaign “Water Matters” includes two phases:
- The first focuses on communication with the local stakeholders (local government, school units, environmental groups, etc.) and involves the organization and implementation of online activities and educational seminars mainly with the participation of school communities on the islands.
- The second includes two visits to the islands in different seasons of the year (spring and autumn 2023), where experiential activities will take place, such as conferences, scientific cafes, seminars, field visits, interviews with locals, narratives, etc.
The overall goal of the project is to raise public awareness through the involvement and participation of not only the educational units, but also local stakeholders, citizens and visitors on the islands.
For more information, please contact Roula Andriopoulou (roulan@hcmr.gr, mobile: 6947203487), Dora Kouvarda (dorak@hcmr.gr, mobile: 6974604267), or call +302291076317 (HCMR Educational Unit).
