Actions in 2007 - Current Projects

In 2007, the Charter’s European Facilitation Committee focused primarily on the following projects:

1. Oversight of an international-cooperation workshop on the theme, “water: common good – common responsibility”

This was a three-week workshop, which took place in March 2007 on the Cyclades, Syros island, Greece, and was coordinated by Yolanda Ziaka in collaboration with the city government of Posidonia. Five Nature Management and Conservation students specializing in nature facilitation, of the Maison Familiale Rurale (rural vocational training center) at Mondy, France, in the Drôme region, took part in this workshop. Their work was focused on the issue of water management in connection with the responsibility this management involves.

The students prepared an educational booklet on theme “water: common good – common responsibility,” beginning with research on the issue of water management in general and water management in an island environment in particular. They wrote a first draft of the booklet. Our aim was for the booklet to be published as the second issue of the series Agir Responsable (responsible action), the first issue of which was released in 2006 on the theme, “our ecological footprint and how to reduce it.” We have not moved on to its publication because this first draft requires further elaboration on several points.

At the same time, the students focused on water management on the island of Syros by conducting a survey of the wells in Syros and on how they had been used in the past and were being used in the present, which led to writing explanatory texts about water management on the island. These texts are to be used by the town hall of Posidonia to mark out a small discovery trail for the wells and provide an explanatory brochure to go with it. At the end the workshop, the students were invited to speak before a class at the Frères De Lasalle school, to present their work and raise the children’s awareness on the issue of water management.

We published the workshop report on the Web site, along with stories written by the students on the theme of responsibility, as well as some of the students’ thoughts on the Charter project.

Elements for the assessment of the operation

The workshop allowed the students to deepen their knowledge and to become aware of the challenges surrounding water resources. At the same time, the workshop allowed the European team to make contacts with the Maisons Familiales Rurales network in France and to circulate information on the Charter project through it. For the coming years, we are planning to continue collaborating with this network in the framework of international-cooperation projects.

2. “Clean up the Med 2007”: participation of the European team

On May 27, the European team, in collaboration with the town hall of Posidonia on the island of Syros, Greece, participated in the “Clean up the Med” operation, the largest volunteer clean-up operation of the Mediterranean, which is spearheaded by the Italian organization Legambiente since 1995. In 2007, more than 500 authorities, parks, schools, and organizations from 22 countries participated in this operation.

On May 27, in addition to cleaning the beach of Agathopes, in Syros, there were discussions on the everyday behavior that affects the quality of the inshore environment and on the responsibility of territorial authorities. An important part of the operation was devoted to an art workshop for the young, based on recycling waste and different materials found on the beach and facilitated by teachers and artists. For the event, the team prepared and distributed brochures presenting Mediterranean pollution issues and environmental protection ones, as well as the Charter project.

Elements for the assessment of the operation

This operation was our first participation in an international campaign, for which we were also associated with a local territorial authority. The Charter’s European Facilitation Committee is henceforth recorded as a partner in the operation and its name appears in the posters and brochures circulated during the operation in all the Mediterranean countries.

3. Organization of a series of traveling art shows featuring Greek, Brazilian, and Georgian artists, on the theme of responsibility

We organized two shows in Greece on the theme, “environment: common good – common responsibility,” collecting the work of Greek, Brazilian, and Georgian artists. The organization of a series of traveling art shows was in fact an idea of the Brazilian Charter team and was discussed at the meeting of the Charter Coordination Committee in South Africa. The artists had been asked to take their inspiration from the Charter text and project to create two-dimensional works representing their vision of our individual and collective responsibility to the environment.

The first show was organized on the island of Syros from August 23 to August 31 in the framework of the cultural summer activities proposed by the city government of Posidonia.

A second show was organized featuring the same works from October 5 to October 8, in the municipal theater of the island of Corfu, Greece. The show was an event associated with the symposium, “Climate change: local initiatives,” jointly organized by the body representing Greece’s territorial authorities, the Central Union of Municipalities and Townships, and by the Greek federation of environmental organizations, the Panhellenic Network of Environmental Organizations.

The third show is to take place in the city of Ioannina in Greece, from November 23 to December 5, 2007, jointly organized by the Ioannina municipal cultural center and by Polis - International Network in Environmental Education.

The show is then to be sent to France, where it will be exhibited on the premises of the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation in Paris for the month of January 2008.

Finally, the show will be traveling to Brazil, where a third show will be organized in May 2008 by the Brazilian Charter team.

During the shows, we organize awareness-raising events for the public, with video screenings, discussions, and art workshops for children.

The artists had been asked to write a text on their work and their vision of “our responsibility to the environment.” The texts and the artists’ biographies were translated into French, English, and Greek and were published on the Charter Web site. Translation of all the texts into Portuguese is in progress.

Printed and electronic material produced on the occasion of the shows

We produced a catalog of the exhibition in the form of CD-ROM, which includes the artists’ texts, their biographies, reproductions of the works, photos of the artists, and introductory texts on the issue of responsibility, the Charter project, and the European committee’s action. The CD-ROMs are circulated during the exhibitions and sent by regular mail to the visitors of the exhibition, as well as to key persons: other artists, journalists, and representatives of environmental NGOs.

We produced a bookmark as an invitation to the shows, as well as postcards of the works, and circulated them through the same channels.

In addition, we designed and published posters of the exhibition and the cities Posidonia and Ioannina took charge of producing for us the invitations to the opening.

Previous to each exhibition, we sent press releases to our list of correspondents including more then 500 persons and organizations: journalists, teachers, NGO members, and parliamentarians.

Elements for the assessment of the operation

The aim of the whole operation was to raise public awareness through the artists’ vision of our responsibility to the environment. By leaning on a cultural event, an art show, we are able to reach out to a varied public that is not necessarily sensitive to social issues. For this sort of public, stimulation through artwork is an excellent means for exploration and thought. An important aspect of the operation was the organization of informal discussions with each of the visitors at the show, into which we introduced the question of responsibility and a presentation of the Charter project.

At the Syros show, there were many different sorts of visitors from a number of different European countries, Syros being a popular tourist destination. The visitors at the Corfu show were different: mayors and town chairpersons from everywhere in Greece, executive staff from territorial authorities, former vice-ministers, members of environmental organizations from the whole country, and Corfu inhabitants.

We consider that we have already taken a big step forward, first by constituting an artists’ network now involved in our project and prepared to participate in future actions. Furthermore, we established very good contacts with two municipalities, which offered us the showrooms and in addition, became jointly involved in the exhibitions; these contacts will make future joint collaboration possible. Finally, through communication action (such as press releases, sending the material to key persons, etc.) the Charter project became known and has raised interest.


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Actions and projects in Western Europe Action Plan 2008-2009 Art Project 2007	Home Activities Regional Activities Europe Western Europe Actions and projects in Western Europe Published on 30 October 2007 Translations available in: français (original) . Español . Actions in 2007 - Current Projects by Yolanda ZIAKA
	In 2007, the Charter’s European Facilitation Committee focused primarily on the following projects: 1. Oversight of an international-cooperation workshop on the theme, “water: common good – common responsibility” This was a three-week workshop, which took place in March 2007 on the Cyclades, Syros island, Greece, and was coordinated by Yolanda Ziaka in collaboration with the city government of Posidonia. Five Nature Management and Conservation students specializing in nature facilitation, of the Maison Familiale Rurale (rural vocational training center) at Mondy, France, in the Drôme region, took part in this workshop. Their work was focused on the issue of water management in connection with the responsibility this management involves. The students prepared an educational booklet on theme “water: common good – common responsibility,” beginning with research on the issue of water management in general and water management in an island environment in particular. They wrote a first draft of the booklet. Our aim was for the booklet to be published as the second issue of the series Agir Responsable (responsible action), the first issue of which was released in 2006 on the theme, “our ecological footprint and how to reduce it.” We have not moved on to its publication because this first draft requires further elaboration on several points. At the same time, the students focused on water management on the island of Syros by conducting a survey of the wells in Syros and on how they had been used in the past and were being used in the present, which led to writing explanatory texts about water management on the island. These texts are to be used by the town hall of Posidonia to mark out a small discovery trail for the wells and provide an explanatory brochure to go with it. At the end the workshop, the students were invited to speak before a class at the Frères De Lasalle school, to present their work and raise the children’s awareness on the issue of water management. We published the workshop report on the Web site, along with stories written by the students on the theme of responsibility, as well as some of the students’ thoughts on the Charter project. Elements for the assessment of the operation The workshop allowed the students to deepen their knowledge and to become aware of the challenges surrounding water resources. At the same time, the workshop allowed the European team to make contacts with the Maisons Familiales Rurales network in France and to circulate information on the Charter project through it. For the coming years, we are planning to continue collaborating with this network in the framework of international-cooperation projects. 2. “Clean up the Med 2007”: participation of the European team On May 27, the European team, in collaboration with the town hall of Posidonia on the island of Syros, Greece, participated in the “Clean up the Med” operation, the largest volunteer clean-up operation of the Mediterranean, which is spearheaded by the Italian organization Legambiente since 1995. In 2007, more than 500 authorities, parks, schools, and organizations from 22 countries participated in this operation. On May 27, in addition to cleaning the beach of Agathopes, in Syros, there were discussions on the everyday behavior that affects the quality of the inshore environment and on the responsibility of territorial authorities. An important part of the operation was devoted to an art workshop for the young, based on recycling waste and different materials found on the beach and facilitated by teachers and artists. For the event, the team prepared and distributed brochures presenting Mediterranean pollution issues and environmental protection ones, as well as the Charter project. Elements for the assessment of the operation This operation was our first participation in an international campaign, for which we were also associated with a local territorial authority. The Charter’s European Facilitation Committee is henceforth recorded as a partner in the operation and its name appears in the posters and brochures circulated during the operation in all the Mediterranean countries. 3. Organization of a series of traveling art shows featuring Greek, Brazilian, and Georgian artists, on the theme of responsibility We organized two shows in Greece on the theme, “environment: common good – common responsibility,” collecting the work of Greek, Brazilian, and Georgian artists. The organization of a series of traveling art shows was in fact an idea of the Brazilian Charter team and was discussed at the meeting of the Charter Coordination Committee in South Africa. The artists had been asked to take their inspiration from the Charter text and project to create two-dimensional works representing their vision of our individual and collective responsibility to the environment. The first show was organized on the island of Syros from August 23 to August 31 in the framework of the cultural summer activities proposed by the city government of Posidonia. A second show was organized featuring the same works from October 5 to October 8, in the municipal theater of the island of Corfu, Greece. The show was an event associated with the symposium, “Climate change: local initiatives,” jointly organized by the body representing Greece’s territorial authorities, the Central Union of Municipalities and Townships, and by the Greek federation of environmental organizations, the Panhellenic Network of Environmental Organizations. The third show is to take place in the city of Ioannina in Greece, from November 23 to December 5, 2007, jointly organized by the Ioannina municipal cultural center and by Polis - International Network in Environmental Education. The show is then to be sent to France, where it will be exhibited on the premises of the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation in Paris for the month of January 2008. Finally, the show will be traveling to Brazil, where a third show will be organized in May 2008 by the Brazilian Charter team. During the shows, we organize awareness-raising events for the public, with video screenings, discussions, and art workshops for children. The artists had been asked to write a text on their work and their vision of “our responsibility to the environment.” The texts and the artists’ biographies were translated into French, English, and Greek and were published on the Charter Web site. Translation of all the texts into Portuguese is in progress. Printed and electronic material produced on the occasion of the shows We produced a catalog of the exhibition in the form of CD-ROM, which includes the artists’ texts, their biographies, reproductions of the works, photos of the artists, and introductory texts on the issue of responsibility, the Charter project, and the European committee’s action. The CD-ROMs are circulated during the exhibitions and sent by regular mail to the visitors of the exhibition, as well as to key persons: other artists, journalists, and representatives of environmental NGOs. We produced a bookmark as an invitation to the shows, as well as postcards of the works, and circulated them through the same channels. In addition, we designed and published posters of the exhibition and the cities Posidonia and Ioannina took charge of producing for us the invitations to the opening. Previous to each exhibition, we sent press releases to our list of correspondents including more then 500 persons and organizations: journalists, teachers, NGO members, and parliamentarians. Elements for the assessment of the operation The aim of the whole operation was to raise public awareness through the artists’ vision of our responsibility to the environment. By leaning on a cultural event, an art show, we are able to reach out to a varied public that is not necessarily sensitive to social issues. For this sort of public, stimulation through artwork is an excellent means for exploration and thought. An important aspect of the operation was the organization of informal discussions with each of the visitors at the show, into which we introduced the question of responsibility and a presentation of the Charter project. At the Syros show, there were many different sorts of visitors from a number of different European countries, Syros being a popular tourist destination. The visitors at the Corfu show were different: mayors and town chairpersons from everywhere in Greece, executive staff from territorial authorities, former vice-ministers, members of environmental organizations from the whole country, and Corfu inhabitants. We consider that we have already taken a big step forward, first by constituting an artists’ network now involved in our project and prepared to participate in future actions. Furthermore, we established very good contacts with two municipalities, which offered us the showrooms and in addition, became jointly involved in the exhibitions; these contacts will make future joint collaboration possible. Finally, through communication action (such as press releases, sending the material to key persons, etc.) the Charter project became known and has raised interest.