A wave of small Greek environmentalists overwhelmed her Constantinople the first weekend of April, bringing their passion for the environment and their energy from every corner of Greece. Elementary, middle and high school students united in a common purpose, offered a unique life experience and ecological empathy to their expatriate classmates in Constantinopleon the occasion of last summer’s devastating fires in GREECE and especially in Thrace.
Especially the tragic event of the destruction of the forest of Dadia, which shocked the whole of Europe last year, was the catalyst so that the historical city to be transformed into a lively space for education and exchange of ideas about the environment.
Student missions from Cretethe Dodecanesethe Peloponnese, Central Greece, Ionia, Epirus, Macedonia and even Thrace traveled to Istanbul for the 1st Student Environmental Conference of the National Educational Action Network on the topic: “Istanbul – Thessaloniki, An Educational Coexistence – Citizens of the City, Greeks of the World” of the Directorates of Primary and Secondary Education Western Thessaloniki.
The conference was held under the auspices of A.Th.P. of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Mr. Bartholomew, on April 4-7, 2024 in Istanbul, at I paint High School.
Digital fairy tale about the rescue of animals by the little ambassadors of Komotini
The small studentssupported by their teachers, presented amazing works, moved the audience and drew strong clap.
The participation that stood out was his team’s 9th Primary School of Komotini with the project “Save the Animals – The Complaint of the Animals”, inspired by last summer’s devastating fire in the forest of Dadia.
The students they created one digital fairy tale and they expressed themselves artistically in the school’s ceramics workshop, where they created wonderful ceramic wreaths inspired by the burnt forest, which they then donated to the contributors of the Conference, to the schools of Omogenia and to A.Th.P. the Ecumenical Patriarch, Mr. Bartholomew.
During traveler the route and in Constantinople there were many opportunities to meet and interact between students and teachers. The excitement was great. The street of Pera was filled with Greek children from primary, secondary and high schools from all corners of the Greece. From Milk to and from the Holy Trinity Agia Sophia until Fanari, you could hear Greek everywhere.
His small team 9th Primary School of Komotinis consisting of 5th and 6th grade students, their mothers and the responsible teachers of the program, Mrs. Glykeria Panagiotidou, Mrs. Dimitra Armentzou and Mrs. Marina Molla, had the opportunity to visit the expatriate schools on Friday, April 5 Zappeio, Zografieo and the Great School of the Genus during opening hours and to be guided around these top educational institutions by the Principal of Zappeio Primary School Ms. Evangelia Kanaris, the Director of Zappeio Middle School-Lyceum Ms. Rika Bekiari-Pandelara, the Director of Zografieo, etc. Yiannis Demirtzoglou and the Director of the Great School of Genus, Mr. Dimitris Zotos.
In the afternoon of the same day they attended to Holy Church of Agios Georgios at Fanari the 3rd Station of Greetings, patron of the A.Th.P. of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Mr. Bartholomeu and at the end of it followed his speech and his blessing to the Conference and the participants.
His breakfast Saturday, April 6, Zografieo and the Director of Mr. Yannis Demirtzoglou they warmly welcomed and hosted the Environmental groups of Middle and High Schools and in the afternoon the works of Primary schools from every corner of Greece, who presented their works in the auditorium and hung posters in the halls school.
The reactions that the presentations of the student groups received were enthusiastic and it is hopeful that within the schools they are implemented environmental programs that sensitize students so that they acquire ecological consciousness as tomorrow’s active citizens. Alongside the work of the Conference and the other events, they had the opportunity to visit important monuments of the Byzantine and historical center of City.
