Young Burgas Citizens Inspired Celebrated World Wetlands Day 2020

Today, 02/07/2020, at the Flora Exposure Center Burgas, the Via Pontica Foundation together with the Municipality of Burgas and RIEW Burgas opened the Wetlands Days 2020. As a full member of Wetlands International and in coordination with the Ramsar Convention on the occasion of 2 February – World Wetlands Day, the Foundation organizes an annual campaign to raise awareness of the importance of wetland biodiversity. The theme for 2020 is “Wetlands and Biodiversity”.
The events, which were delayed by a few days this year due to the flu vacations, are being held under the patronage of Ms. Yordanka Ananieva, Deputy Mayor of education, health and social affairs. It started with the Ecopower Information Day. More than 50 people – students, teachers, parents, representatives of NGOs and institutions – actively participated in the forum.

The subject line of the event was dedicated to the theme of “Superheroes in wetland conservation and the environment” as the teenagers had the opportunity to present works of comic competition with an environmental focus, to listen to lectures about the richness of the fauna and flora in the wetlands of Burgas region, to share impressions and ideas about environmental protection.
Experts, educators and interest groups presented and defended the message that everyone can be a hero of the day in shared care for nature, biodiversity and wetlands. With innovative techniques instead of academics, the lecturers conducted guest trainings – “superheroes” in protecting wetlands and the environment, fascinatingly telling the participants about the importance of wetlands and biodiversity and making the event unforgettable for young wits.

The children from the Captain Planet Ecoclub at the A.G. Kozhakafalia Elementary School have presented a project of a game-mobile application for migratory birds, which they are developing together with the Via Pontica Foundation and the Ecopark for Biodiversity and Alternative Tourism Vaya. The scope in which children are presented to children can be regarded as extremely successful in terms of accessibility and competitive stimulation.

The exhibition of works by young artists created for the eco-friendly comic book competition aroused great interest and approval. A special jury had a difficult task to distinguish the best works. In addition to the prizes awarded for the first three places provided by the Via Pontica Foundation, Chief Expert Milena Yarmova from RIEW Burgas and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Dalakchieva from the Natural History Museum-Burgas, also expressed their desire to distinguish several works with non-standard awards. The two teams that presented the electronic and watercolor comics will have the opportunity to spend a day working in the respective institutions to get acquainted with the activities of the experts and will appreciate that the Superheroes in the protection of wetlands and the environment are not only on paper.
Via Pontica Foundation expresses its special thanks to the jury of the comic competition consisting of Mitko Ivanov – artist and historian, and Ms. Milena Yarmova, RIEW Chief Expert, who worked with exceptional professionalism and positivism!
Sincere thanks also to the donors: the poet Stoyan Damyanov and the International Trade and Cultural Center “Geopan” represented by Dr. Stefan Peikov!
It should also be noted the involvement, dedication, joy and energy of directors, teachers, social workers and volunteers who embraced the idea and inspired children to create and challenge with non-standard characters, dialogues and solutions for the conservation of natural resources.

As the competition is of great interest, all received works will be exhibited within a week at the Flora EC Round Hall. All citizens and guests of the city are welcome to explore and continue the initiative to protect the thriving life in the wetlands of the Burgas region with further ideas.
With the organization of the Wetlands Days 2020 and the string of initiatives born in collaboration with partners and colleagues, the Via Pontica Foundation team is extremely happy, that for the next year, it has managed to put on the agenda a topic of paramount importance, which has been continued in a series of events and has attracted new adherents and nature lovers.