The Environmental Education
Center of Vamos implements the Erasmus + KA1 program "Nature and culture
as tools for Intercultural Education" (approval number from the State
Scholarship Foundation 2019-1-EL01-KA104-062085).
Europe is facing a wave of
xenophobia and racism, which is being exacerbated by the displacement of too
many people, whether refugees or migrants, due to climate change and war. Thus
arises the need for intercultural education for the peaceful coexistence of
different people and the conservation of nature and cultural heritage can be
important tools in this endeavor. Monuments of nature and culture are a common
heritage for all mankind, necessary for our survival both natural and cultural.
The diversity of nature and culture can become tools of mutual respect and
understanding of the different people who are called to coexist in the new
conditions after wars and natural disasters.
With this program the
Environmental Education Center gets ideas and tools to develop educational
programs in the countryside or indoors using nature and cultural heritage as
tools for intercultural education.
As part of this program, Adriana
Basiou,(English teacher,member of the pedagogical team) and Fotis Pontikakis (teacher,Head of Environmental Education Center of Vamos) participated in a
multi-day Seminar (Structured Course) on "There is no planet B" in
Porto, Portugal , during the period 18-23 July 2021.
The seminar was
organized by Learning Together / Sinerconsult. .
Learning
Together is
an operating division dedicated to training under the Erasmus + program.
Founded in 2000 and
accredited by the Department General for Employment and Labour Relations
(DGERT) since 2001, the management company is an education and training
institution with over 20 years of experience and has
its headquarters in Porto (Portugal) . Since 2001, more than 400
trainers, 18 project coordinators and 9 administrative have cooperated with the
organization
The seminar was attended by
teachers from Spain, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece.
During the Seminar, visits
were made to the Environmental Centers of the city where their operation and
methodology were explained, as well as to the Interactive Museum of Natural
History, the Lipor Solid Waste Management Center, Cimar Marine Research Center
and the interactive Water Museum (Water Pavillion)
All the above institutions
implement educational programs with students and train the citizens of Porto to
be more environmentally aware and to participate in actions that promote the
ecological balance and the proper management of waste and natural resources in
the area. The teachers had the opportunity to attend presentations and to solve
relevant questions as well as to be provided with relevant material for their
schools. The participants were also guided to important monuments of the city
as well as to local wineries that are an important part of the tradition and
economy of the area. There was also an extensive presentation of the city's
Water Management Agency and a discussion on good practices for saving and maintaining
good water quality in everyday home life.
The teachers
interacted with each other, exchanged views and experiences and got ideas and
materials to be applied in the schools of their country in order to better
explain to the students ,theoretically and practically, the concept of
sustainability for a more ecologically balanced planet.
