Making the school an agent of change to deliver a resilient Blue Mediterranean Sea

September 27, 2021 – 10h45 to 13h15

Online event

Live interpretation in English available & interprétation en direct en français disponible

Webstream of the event HERE

Increasing attention is given at different scales to the role of education, and to formal education in particular, in supporting long-term changes in attitudes and behaviours toward delivering ecological and climate transition and thus a healthy and resilient ocean and seas. At the school and community level, this is illustrated by the many education projects teachers and children are carrying out to bring the climate and the ocean to the classroom. At the European and international scale, this is illustrated, inter alia, by the attention given to blue (Network of European Blue Schools) and climate (Education for Climate Coalition) education by the European Commission and its Joint Research Centres, initiatives by UNESCO on education for sustainable development or the attention given to ocean literacy in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Yet, we are only at the start of the wave that will give societal and environmental sustainability in general, and ocean and climate in particular, sufficient attention in the formal education system. In this context, the workshop will address the following three questions:

1. How best should the ocean and climate “find their way” in the formal education curricula framework? How to ensure that our education delivers the required competencies and skills that can help identifying and implementing solutions contributing to a healthy and resilient Mediterranean Sea?

2. Under which conditions will the school become an agent of change in the community, contributing to making the Mediterranean Sea blue and resilient?

3. Which opportunities lie at the interface between the ocean & climate communities on one hand, and the education community on the other hand, that could and should be seized to accelerate the required school transition?

Focusing on the diverse Mediterranean Sea basin context and experiences, the workshop will also bring source of inspiration and experiences from other European countries and beyond.

Agenda - From A to Z

• 10:30 - Opening of the virtual room
• 10:45 - Setting the scene

Pierre Strosser, ACTeon (EU4Ocean Coalition coordinator)

Andy Kontoudaki, Maritime Innovation, Marine Knowledge and Investment, DG MARE (European Commission)

Ana Luiza Thompson-Flores, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe

• 10:55 - Let’s visit real-life experiences!

Nuno Magalhães, teacher from Portugal  

Vera Vorylla, teacher, teacher-trainer, co-ordinator of Environmental Education (Primary Education Directorate of East Attica, Greece), member of Greek Eco-Schools Committee

Ramona Mercie, Teacher at the Gozo College Middle School, Victoria, and GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) Deputy Country Co-ordinator for Malta

Ulrike Pisiotis, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

• 11:15 - Bringing climate and ocean into the formal education

Bernard Combes, UNESCO

Yolanda Koulouri, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, EMSEA MED

Anna Sergiou, Unit of Education for Environment and Sustainable Development of the Cyprus MoE

Nikolas Papanikolas, Unit of Education for Environment and Sustainable Development of the Cyprus MoE

• 11:50 - The school as an agent of change in the community

Malgorzata (Gosia) Luszczek, International YRE Director, Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)

Ana Noronha, Ciência Viva (Portugal)

• 12:25 - Opportunities to accelerate the required school transition

​​​​​Evy Copejans, European Marine Science Educators Association

Tremeur Denigot, Joint Research Center, Education for Climate Coalition

Francesca Santoro, IOC-UNESCO

Ulrike Pisiotis, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

• 13:05 - Closing words and inspiration

Ana Luiza Thompson-Flores, director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe

Andy Kontoudaki from Maritime Innovation, Marine Knowledge and Investment, DG MARE (European Commission)

Pierre Strosser, ACTeon (EU4Ocean Coalition coordinator)

• 13:15 - End of the workshop

Co-organised and with contributions from

Organised by and with contributions from (in alphabetical order): ACTeon, Cienca Viva, European Commission/DG MARE & DG EAC, EMSEA, Foundation for Environmental Education, IOC-UNESCO, JRC, European SchoolNet, UNESCO.

For more information on the event

Pierre Strosser   @    p.strosser@acteon-environment.eu