Madrid, October 5, 2017 – “Guardians of the Coast” is an initiative by the Costa Cruises Foundation to raise awareness among young people about the importance of conserving and protecting the Italian coast. With this project, the Foundation aims to create a “snapshot,” comparable over time, of the entire Italian coast from Liguria to Friuli Venezia Giulia, including Sardinia and Sicily, with the active participation of teachers and students from more than 200 Italian schools.
“Guardians of the Coast” is supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Costa Cruises Foundation and the Genoa School of Robotics – available at http://www.istruzione.it/ProtocolliInRete/Protocolli_Accordi.html –. This agreement aims to develop an innovative educational program, focused on environmental sustainability and the social use of new technologies, to combat school dropout rates and support inclusion and integration, as well as promote the conscious and ethical use of new technologies.
During the current school year, students participating in the project, on a voluntary and completely free basis, will "adopt" a specific stretch of the Italian coast, recording their observations and measurements. The project is aimed at students and teachers throughout Italy in the last three years of secondary school.
Both teachers and students will have access to a dedicated platform where educators can find materials such as webcasts, general information, and video tutorials specifically designed for the project. This was made possible through the collaboration of the Ligurian Fisheries and Environment Observatory (a cooperative of marine scientists, science communicators, diving operators, and environmental technicians from Liguria) and the scientific committee of the Genoa Robotics Schools Association. To ensure the initiative fulfills its purpose of contributing to civic education, the platform's content will be scientifically accurate yet easily accessible and understandable for the general public, regardless of their background. The teaching units cover three areas of interest: the Mediterranean marine environment, biodiversity, and marine and coastal protection; climate change, invasive species, and the impact of climate on the marine environment; and marine pollution and waste, human use of the coastal marine environment, and technological initiatives to reduce waste.
Both the online and in-person components will be complemented by fieldwork, in which a large part of the coastline will be monitored, examining environmental quality indicators, the main characteristics of the coastal environment, and certain socioeconomic aspects related to coastal and resource management. Both the scientific observation and monitoring activities will be supported by a free app (available for Android and iOS) designed specifically for this program. The photos and information generated by participants through the app will be validated by experts and sent to an easily accessible database that can be used to compare results over the long term. This tool will serve as the basis for creating a map showing the state of the Italian coast from the perspective of those who have been studying pollution firsthand: students and citizens—in other words, the true “Guardians of the Coast.”.
Teachers who participate in the initial workshop and use the online resources will receive a certificate from the Robotics School's training institute, accredited by the MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research), and their participation can be counted as professional development hours. Furthermore, students participating in "Guardians of the Coast" can count this course as a work-study project.
The initiative will culminate in a nationwide event where the results achieved by the young people will be presented, and the class that presents the best project will win a Mediterranean cruise aboard a Costa Cruises ship.
For more information about the project: www.guardianidellacosta.it
