The "Azores Between Seas" campaign, promoted by the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs, is taking place on all islands of the archipelago until June 8, World Oceans Day, under the theme "Marine Education."
For the Regional Director for Sea Affairs, this initiative is "an opportunity to disseminate and raise the awareness of society for the importance of knowledge on the oceans. In this regard, he noted that this campaign also aims "to enhance our culture, which has a strong maritime component, in the context of active citizenship and public participation."
"Information is the basis for the development of the socio-economic potential that the sea offers us," Filipe Porteiro said, adding that "it is necessary to reconcile exploitation with conservation to ensure the good environmental status of our seas and the sustainable use of marine resources."
The "Azores Between Seas 2016 - Marine Education" aims to contribute to ProSucesso, the Regional Government's programme to reduce early school dropout and improve the academic success of young Azoreans.
"The idea is to put the sea as a central and transdisciplinary theme for learning," the Regional Director said, stating that "a digital database of educational resources under the sea theme for now, currently housed in the Azores Between Seas, is available for all those who are interested, especially teachers and students."
Filipe Porteiro stressed that this is "a dynamic project, which will be further developed over time in order to maximise resources," including posters, leaflets, videos, exhibitions, texts and books that were produced by regional entities, such as science centres and environmental non-governmental organizations: the Azores Sea Observatory and the University of the Azores.
During the opening session of the campaign held on Faial, the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs and the Horta City Hall invited the Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC) to present and disseminate the "Sea Kit" programme in the Azores (http://www.emepc.pt/pt/kit-do-mar/home), a national initiative to improve literacy on the Oceans.
The "Sea Kit" develops training activities for teachers and educators as well as activities in the classroom with students from the elementary to secondary school level, featuring educational contents and activities on the sea.
In addition to providing several themed educational resources (activity sheets, guidelines, photos and videos, books and texts), this programme promotes education-oriented events and projects related to the sea.
During the opening session, which was held at Horta Vocational Training School, the "Sea Kit" also presented the project "Moby takes Portugal to the World," an initiative locally coordinated by the educational programme "Oceans-on" that involved students from this school and the Sea Club of José de Ávila School in Horta.
This project included the construction of a sailboat model, the "Moby," which will soon be launched into the sea and will sail the North Atlantic. It will follow routes determined by currents and winds and carry messages from the Azores as a floating bottle, which will be monitored through a GPS installed in the hull.
The "Azores Between Seas" is coordinated by the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs, being implemented by Azorina and Island Natural Parks. It has established partnerships with schools, municipal councils, village councils, public and private companies and NGOs such as scouts groups and nautical clubs, among others.
Like the previous editions, the "Azores Between Seas" is part of the programme of the European Maritime Day that was celebrated this year in Turkey. It included events in various European maritime regions, of which the Azores is their westernmost border.
For this edition, there are approximately 80 initiatives scheduled for all the islands of the Azores, involving many hundreds of people of all ages.
For additional information, those who are interested may contact their Island Natural Park or DRAM, through the address [email protected], or visit the "Azores Between Seas" website at www.azores.gov.pt/entremares/.