Schools for the Blue Economy Erasmus Project

Project Title

Schools for the Blue Economy

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

EU Commission introduced the Blue Economy term in the last 6 years. Sea has always been a source of life for countries with sea border and coastal populations. The term includes many different human activities relevant to the sea or depending on sea resources. e.g. coastal & marine tourism, aquaculture, fisheries, shipping & ship-building, nautical sports or even bioprospecting are among the traditional or emerging economic maritime sectors.
Blue Economy gives an enormous potential for innovation and sustainability in coastal areas as long as managing and investing in that areas is based on respect for the sea and marine ecosystems and of quality of life.
The Blue Schools project is inspired by this Blue Philosophy but it takes the idea one step further: Its overall goal is to introduce Blue Economy to school education and start building a generation based on environmental sensitivity and empathy, inspired by local cultural heritage, linking sea/marine life with economic growth and employment.
The most important problems coastal areas face are overexploitation of sea/marine resources, large flows of tourists in peak season & a high percentage of unemployment during winter period.
So, the project addresses specific needs that deal mostly with students’ update about sea sustainability, diversification of the occupational and entrepreneurial opportunities for local populations and equal access to sea/marine resources of the more fragile populations, in order to cover basic needs, such as health, security and income. Additionally, students have to realise the importance of traditional cultures; that the connection with the past is a certain consignment for a better future. Last but not least, the preservation of the sea/marine ecosystem and its functions (biodiversity, oxygen production, climate regulation etc) is an ongoing situation that affects everyone’s lives; This will be a tremendous threat unless new generation and teachers get engaged and start acting along with their local stakeholders after being well trained and exchanging ideas with their peers from other countries.
Blue school project aims at raising awareness and support students to build a sustainable future in coastal areas and at encouraging students to be an active part of the society as well as to engage them with local stakeholders.
The specific objectives of Blue Schools are:
-To develop the concept of Blue school
-To train teachers to the subject of Blue economy
-To create learning materials for the students
-To engage students in projects related to Blue economy
-To create a transnational competition in which projects on Blue economy will be developed.
The target group to be addressed with this project are:
-Students in secondary schools in coastal areas
-Teachers in secondary schools in coastal areas
-Organisations, stakeholders and economic actors in coastal areas.
Petra Patrimonia from Corsica is the applicant. Partners are a nautical sports club from Cyprus, a lifelong centre and a marine club from Greece, an Association of schools from Portugal, a vocational school from Italy, the Directorate of Education of Antalya, Turkey and a school from Narva Estonia.
The project will produce 3 intellectual outputs:
-Blue School Project: A clear definition of Blue School, a set of principles, rules and a roadmap for transforming a common school to a Blue one. Partners will work on the development of vision-mission, the mapping of possible stakeholders around the coastal areas and on building synergies. The first output will be fulfilled with the planning and implementation of Blue activities.
A blue etwinning group and a European competition of students’ related projects will also be a result.
-Guide for teachers: This guide will offer tools & methodology that will be created for the teachers. It will help them introduce & impart Blue Philosophy to students and prepare for the transformation of schools into Blue ones.
-Learning resources for students: A dossier of learning resources for the students will be developed by the teachers. Students’ activities will become projects with the general goal to realise the importance of Blue Economy for the sustainability of their areas but in the same time these projects will give them the opportunity to combine the discovery of their local business life, the challenges of starting up a new SME & protecting the environment equally and responsibly. These projects will be presented in a transnational competition and prizes will be given to the most creative ones.
The project will also organise 2 learning activities:
Joint staff training mobility – training of teachers in Baleia and Students mobility – transnational competition in Sardinia.
Blue School project is expected to have a high impact to schools in coastal areas as well as to all stakeholders dealing with sea/marine life, tourism and sustainable development.
all stakeholders dealing with sea/marine life, tourism and sustainable development.

Project Website

http://www.blue-schools.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 269928,2 Eur

Project Coordinator

Coopérative pour le Développement de l’emploi dans les métiers du patrimoine & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Atouguia da Baleia
• Narva Soldino Gümnaasium
• PANGYPRIOS OMILOS NAVSIPLOIAS ANOIKTIS THALASSIS (PONATHA)
• AINTEK SYMVOULOI EPICHEIRISEON EFARMOGES YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS EKPAIDEFSI ANONYMI ETAIREIA
• Antalya Il Milli Egitim Mudurlugu
• CHIOS MARINE CLUB
• ITIS “S. CANNIZZARO”