Civil Society and Capacity-Building

WAAW Seminars

Following the success of the Waste Awareness Action Week programme delivered to the Paxos Primary School children over the course of two weeks, and on recognising the demand and need for active environmental education in their schools, the Greek Ministry of Education approved the programme to be delivered across the whole of Greece. Due to covid related school closures, the project was carefully redesigned to take the format of teacher training seminars delivered by Victoria Turner to 50 schools across the Ionian Islands.

The programme has a significant level of national and international recognition as it is supported by the Ionian Environment Foundation and the ELLINIKI ETAIRIA, which has contributed in an advisory way to its adaptation for Greek schools. The seminars took place over the course of this year, with the final sessions being delivered in October.

The main goal of the programme is to help children become motivators and future leaders in reducing, reusing and recycling waste in their community: at school, at home and ultimately in their workplace. We believe that the inclusion of waste awareness issues in schools is crucial because only then will the populations of these islands be made up of people who make sustainable waste management a daily routine.

The replicability of the project means that we hope our sister foundations across Greece will ensure that these important seminars are delivered across their regions too.