Ecogenia is a significant project that encourages young participants in Greece to be part of sustainable change, namely through local, small-scale projects regarding eco-tourism and other forms of environmental education. It was established by Lia Papazoglou, who created this platform for youth to work on environmental initiatives.
Objectives:
Ecogenia has a number of objectives including.
- Empowering young people to take action in their communities.
- Promoting local eco-tourism projects and community development.
- Encouraging active citizenship and civic engagement among youth.
- Fostering international collaboration through youth exchanges, sharing ideas and solutions.
Description of the project:
Ecogenias projects work more locally, inspiring eco-tourism by creating eco-trails for participants and collaborating with schools and other stakeholders to hold presentations and workshops on environmental and climate action. They have hosted numerous pilot projects: including a hiking trail in Dorida to promote eco-tourism whilst connecting outskirt villages.
One of their pilot projects is focused on creating hiking trails in Dorida, promoting ecotourism and connecting isolated villages, while another initiative focuses on educating children about sustainability and citizenship.
Impacts & Results:
As a result of Ecogenia initiatives and projects, numerous positive impacts have been yielded. Firstly, youth empowerment, involving young greek in being part of a sustainable future and the importance of local action to drive global change. Local initiatives have promoted eco-trails, also showcasing less visited areas by tourists. Ultimately, the project has inspired civic engagement to a range of stakeholders on various levels, a network for individuals sharing knowledge, experience, and ideas about our biggest environmental challenges.
Conclusion & Suggestions for youth workers:
This project highlights how environmental sustainability can be promoted through not only sports but also other industries – tourism especially. Civic engagement must be not only centred around cities but also an accessible activity regardless of where you live. We can all be part of the driver towards a sustainable future. Finally, a key takeaway from the project is balancing, awareness, education and action. All three of these are pillars to inspire action, engagement and local impacts that influence environmental sustainability on a global scale.
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