The environmental education project for children “Let it Flow!”, implemented by MedINA in collaboration with the Environmental Education Centre (KPE) of Konitsa, has completed its activities for the local student community, with the last stop being the Town Hall of Konitsa.
On Friday, May 24, a group of students from the Secondary Education schools of Konitsa met with members of the Konitsa Municipal Council and presented the results of the activities implemented under the project. The meeting took place in the conference room of the Town Hall of Konitsa, in the presence of the President and Members of the Konitsa Municipal Council. The meeting started with a brief presentation of the activities carried out in the three schools of Konitsa (Middle School, General & Technical High School) by the project manager, MedINA associate, Theodora Lanara.
Then the students, the protagonists of the action, took the floor, describing the experience they gained from the activities they participated in, and especially from the Role-Playing Game, the “heart” of “Let it Flow!”, where they had the opportunity to step in the shoes of local stakeholders, realising the complexity of managing a river basin and appreciating the value of dialogue and science in conflict resolution.
Anna Paparoupa-Dova, teacher at the General High School of Konitsa, stressed the importance of role-playing as an educational tool. As she argued, role-playing promotes groupwork and the articulation of reasoning with arguments in “real” conditions of consultation and confrontation, leaving space for the interlocutor. In addition, students are given the opportunity to combine field experience with in-classroom lessons, such as the topic of geothermal energy.
The President of the Municipal Council, Vassilios Spanos, spoke to the students about the decision-making process of the Municipal Council for projects and activities planned in the area, which involves the examination of the Environmental Impact Assessment study and thorough discussion. He said that decisions are made based on a majority vote of the Municipal Council, considering the opinion of expert scientists and the views of residents. Moreover, he emphasised the effective participation of students, as active citizens, in the decision-making processes on issues related to the sustainable development of their place.
The meeting was attended by the President of the Municipal Council, Vassilios Spanos, the Deputy Mayors Dimitrios Kotsiaftis and Apostolos Tsiouchios, and the Members of the Municipal Council Ekaterini Lazaratou, Aristides Lazoyannis, Nikolaos Exarchou and Dimitrios Sdoukos. The Local Community of Konitsa was represented by its President, Aristotelis Dentopoulos, and Prodromos Hatziefraimidis. We warmly thank everyone for participating in this activity and for engaging in this creative discussion with the group of students.
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The project’s preparatory activities, carried out with the participation of students from the Middle School, the General and the Technical High School of Konitsa, included classroom briefings, field trips and role-playing.
Two excursions were organised in early April to the iconic Sarantaporos River, a tributary of the Aoos, and the Amarantos Baths with its unique thermo-steam phenomenon.
The end of April saw the implementation of the Role-Playing Game (RPG) at the premises of project partner Environmental Education Centre (KPE) of Konitsa. The students, supported by their teachers and the MedINA team, took a leading role by putting themselves in the shoes of the stakeholders involved in the management of the Aoos river basin. The RPG was based on the principles of experiential learning and the use of theatre as a tool for creative knowledge exploration.
The project “Let it Flow!” is implemented by MedINA in collaboration with the Environmental Education Centre (KPE) of Konitsa and is funded by the European Green Belt through the BESTbelt project with EuroNatur as lead partner, with the financial support of the European Union.