Participation in Erasmus+ Seminar "There is No Planet B" in Porto, 18-23 July 2021

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.