Syros and Andros Accommodate Events for the General Public

Awareness raising, capacity building and active involvement of the local public, the key stakeholders and the local authorities from Syros and Andros, will set the groundwork for raising awareness towards the effective protection of the wider Gyaros area.

Towards this aim, the “CYCLADES LIFE” team will carry out a series of open public events in both Syros and Andros, where the participants will have the opportunity to discover interesting details and scientific facts and acquire in depth information about the important value of the rare species and important habitats that are found on their islands. They will also learn about the advantages of conserving the natural environment and how protecting nature may lead to a more sustainable social, economic and cultural future.

The public events will promote “open dialogue”, providing an important opportunity for the project team to listen to the participants’ comments and note their concerns, and the difficulties that they face, while at the same time encouraging them to participate to the “CYCLADES LIFE” project actions.

KZ KPE Elefsinas 19 Oct 2013 Prasini Poli 001_forwbesite

© M.Symvoulidou@ WWF Greece

Wide participation is the desirable objective for these events, as they will serve on one hand as an information platform for locals to be informed of the need for the immediate establishment of the new Marine Protected Area. On the other, they will give the opportunity to the project’s team to answer to any queries concerning the project but also recording the suggestions and useful insights for the implementation of the project.

During the events, our role besides of being informative will also be supportive, helping and motivating the local community to realize that together we can work more effectively and successfully implement this innovative initiative, and thus achieve both of our goals:  the long-term protection of the marine environment and the sustainable development of the local societies. In all events, the project’s awareness raising and educational materials will be distributed providing further information about the “CYCLADES LIFE” goals, actions and expected results.

As part of our awareness raising efforts, the section of the website with the awareness tools of the project will be enriched on a regular basis with audiovisual materials and informative “popular” articles and presentations so that visitors (journalists, citizens, institutional bodies, fishermen, tourist operators, the scientific community, local authorities) can have direct access to updated relevant information.