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Coast Day 2008
Coast Day is a unique event in the Mediterranean. It aims to raise awareness of policy makers and the public of the value of the coast, as well as of applying an integrated approach to planning and management of the coastal zone. This gallery includes photos from activities organised in Cyprus for the Coast Day Celebrations in 2008 by AKTI.
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- Site visit – Baths of Afrodite
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- Education on the beach
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- Interactive workshop
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- Mini workshop of AKTI
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- Students of the International School
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- Clean or dirty?
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- After cleaning…
AKTI Project and Research Centre supports the celebrations for COAST DAY 2008
The events organized and implemented in Cyprus by AKTI Project and Research Centre for Coast Day 2008 was a great success!
More than 12 Mass media have been involved (newspapers, radios and TVs), the official Coast Day video has been on TV 2times per day since 14 October (TV Magic) and 4 times during 24th (Omega TV). Radio interviews, articles in newspapers, beach cleanings, 2 mini workshops in schools (Primary School of Prodromos in Larnaka and International School of Pafos) with the participation of 300 children and with coverage from TVs and radios, establishment of October as coastal awareness raising month for the students of International School with the support if AKTI, meetings with stakeholders (eg the Mayor of Pafos), e-newsletters etc.
U.S. Ambassador Judith Garber participated in international Coastal CleanUp Day event in Larnaca!
The online news portal In-Cyprus reports:
Waste management is something that needs to be tackled at the source, said U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, Judith Garber, marking International Coastal CleanUp Day in Larnaca.
U.S. Ambassador Garber participated at the clean-up of the CTO beach in Larnaca, organised by the non-governmental organisation AKTI.
The International Coastal CleanUp Day encourages people to rid beaches of the garbage plaguing beaches. Awareness is also spread about preserving and protecting the world`s oceans and waterways.
U.S. Ambassador Garber said the Embassy is so proud to partner with AKTI and participating in this event is something they try to do every year.
Plastic in the ocean is such a “huge issue and something I am a tremendous advocate about and the Biden administration is putting as a tremendous priority” said Garber, as estimates indicate that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish and approximately 8-10 million bottles of plastic end up in the ocean every single year.
“Waste management is really something that really needs to be tackled at the source, is not just about cleaning up here along the beach is about what we all do absolutely every day to make sure that we are reducing the amount of single use plastics”, the U.S. Ambassador said.
We need to be conscious about the waste “that we are throwing into the environment because all that ends up in the ocean, that affects our ecosystem, that affects very much the world in which we live”, the U.S. Ambassador said, adding it also affects our food chain as plastic never fully degrades. “We don’t know how that is affecting us but we do know it has a negative effect on the environment and biodiversity in the seas”.
Xenia Loizides, who holds the chair of AKTI Project and Research Centre, thanked Garber for her support to mark International Coastal CleanUp Day.
She also referred to the #potavristou campaign that is running again this year following success over the last 2 years. Noting this project is supported by MIO-ECSDE, the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development and is implemented in 20 countries so far.
It is very significant to hold campaigns which make everyone aware of waste management, said Loizides, adding it is equally significant to realise that our seas and planet have turned into a landfill, something that needs to stop.
AKTI was established in 2000 by a group of experts in environmental issues and has succeeded today to create an extensive network of collaborators and volunteers for raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable development.
A total of 23 kilos of waste and more than 800 cigarette stubs were collected during Saturday’s event.
ARTICLES:
| IN-CYPRUS |
| ALPHA NEWS |
| CYPRUS – MAIL |
| HELLAS JOURNAL |
| SIGMA LIVE |
| Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ |
| CNA |
| RIK NEWS |
| SUNDAY MAIL |
VIDEOS:
PHOTOS:
AKTI in collaboration with the Department of Environment celebrates CoastDay2020, through the action #potavristou!
#potavristou, literally means “reach out” in the Cypriot dialect, but also has the meaning of “giving a helping hand”. AKTI, through its social media and with the support of several public media (TV & radio), is asking individuals to simply “reach out”, anywhere they were during the entire month of September, collect the litter lying around them, take a photo, tell us their location and the number of litter they have collected and post it on social media using the hashtags #potavristou and #akti or send it to us through the messenger of AKTI.
This is the second year of AKTI’s action #potavristou! During 2019, #potavristou was run only one day, the 21st of September, and over 500 people posted pictures and data on collected appr 5,5 tones of litter all around the coastline of Cyprus. It was a great achievement for Cyprus, which has received international recognition by Ocean Conservancy. This is the first campaign that targeted the self-responsibility of Cypriots as citizens, without organized groups or beach clean-up events on specific beaches. It is obvious that there is a definite need for more concerted actions, awareness, and stronger advocacy work.
This year, #potavristou runs the entire month of September and through this action AKTI devotes the 25th of September to CoastDay2020!
With #potavristou, AKTI aims to strengthen its outreach for enhancing citizen engagement and its capacity to offer broader advocacy to a larger spectrum of citizens groups through (1) empowering/encouraging citizens to act against marine litter, (2) gathering important-for-research citizen-science data that are scarce in Cyprus, (3) liaising with key stakeholders to identify effective measures to stop the flow of litter to the marine environment.
Celebrate International Coastal Clean-up Day by cleaning Pedieos River
📢Let’s celebrate 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏-𝒖𝒑 𝑫𝒂𝒚 by cleaning Pedieos River!
Join us for a riverside cleanup, organized by AKTI in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy Cyprus:
📆 September 19, 2020
⏱ 9:00 – 10:30 AM
📍 Pedieos River, Nicosia
📌 Meeting Point: Greek Orthodox Church Timiou Prodromou, near the Ministry of Health
📩 RVSP TO: clonicosia@state.gov by Thursday, September 17
AKTI is celebrating European Maritime Day 2023 – 18th May
Thinking about what to buy for the holiday season this year?🎄
Grab some great gifts while also helping protect our coasts at the same time! 🎁🌊
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👕 T-shirt: € 15 (+ shipping)
📕 Mandala colouring book: € 10 (+ shipping)
🛍️ Bag: € 5 (+ shipping)
🧢 Hat: €5 (+ shipping)
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You can also get your gifts from our office without the shipping charge!
📍 95 Kyrenias, 2113 Platy Aglantzias, Nicosia
🕒 8:30-16:30
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Send us a message on Facebook or Instagram messenger to place your orders, or for more information. All proceeds go towards funding AKTI’s projects and activities!! 😊
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📏 SIZE & FIT (For t-shirts):
Female Model wears: Medium
Female Model’s height: 1.75 m
Male Model wears: Large
Male Model’s height: 1.85 m
BeMed: The Cyprus Responsible Coastal Businesses Network against Single-Use Plastics
Marine litter is an environmental, economic as well as human health problem with no simple solution. It poses a global, complex and multi-dimensional challenge with significant implications for the marine and coastal environment and human activities all over the world. Single-use plastic products constitute more than 70% of all marine litter items. The European Commission in May, 2018 proposed new EU-wide rules that target to reduce the ten most common single-use plastic products found on Europe’s coastal areas and seas.
This year-long project funded by the Beyond Plastic Med Foundation aims to raise awareness on the impact of single-use plastics on the environment and consequently on human health and provide practical solutions to the problem targeting key stakeholders of the Cypriot society, specifically coastal businesses.
📌The specific OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT are:
1️⃣. Awareness-raising of key stakeholders who contribute to, are affected by and are responsible for taking decisions regarding the usage of single-use plastics, particularly coastal businesses and local authorities, as well as the general public. Promote the need to reduce the use of single-use plastics, presenting their detrimental effects on the marine environment and offering a solution oriented campaign (as presented in following points (2) and (3).
2️⃣. Collection and dissemination of best practices for the reduction of single-use plastics through synergistic, novel and practical solutions to the problem. Collaboration of the key stakeholders will be encouraged and recorded.
3️⃣. Expansion of civic engagement through capacity building and skills development in conscious single-use plastic usage, in order to have a societal level change (i.e. coastal business owners, beachgoers, local authorities, students) in regards with the latest proposed EU Directive which aims to reduce marine litter.
📌 The six activities that were implemented over the duration of the project are:
1️⃣. Field trips for marine litter assessment and source identification were implemented, engaging coastal business owners, beachgoers and local communities. More specifically, AKTI implemented annual clean-ups on selected beaches with the collaboration of the Responsible Coastal Businesses, local authorities, schools, and volunteers. A total of 13 marine litter assessments were implemented: 12 beach clean-ups and 1 seabed clean-up, with the participation of almost 400 volunteers, including representatives of 10 local authorities.
AKTI is the national coordinator of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) of the Ocean Conservancy in Cyprus. Therefore, all the clean-ups were implemented using the International Coastal Cleanup Protocol. The data have been included in AKTI’s Regional Marine Litter Database and have also been submitted to the ICC. Over 18,000 litter items were collected, weighing more than 300 kilos.
📸🌊Some photos from the Beach and Seabed Cleanups, are available here:
2️⃣. A Guide that highlights the practices that can be applied by each stakeholder/target group in order to reduce the use of single-use plastics, has been developed, printed and distributed to all the Network Members as well as the coastal authorities we visited and informed about single use plastics. The Guide developed as part of this activity, aims to support businesses that are members of the Cypriot Responsible Coastal Business Network to implement practices that will minimize their consumption of single-use plastics, reduce the amount of litter that they produce, and thus contribute to the overall reduction of marine pollution. In so doing, the guide will help prepare coastal businesses for the Single-Use Plastics Directive of the European Union, which will come into force in 2021 and that will ban the use of the most common types of single-use plastics that end up in the marine environment. In summary, the guide seeks to fill a significant information and awareness gap by engaging key stakeholder groups and encouraging them to make a difference by incorporating more sustainable practices in their operations and thus contributing to the fight against plastic marine pollution.
200 copies of the Guide (100 copies in English and 100 copies in Greek) were produced and distributed to the Members of the Responsible Coastal Business Network, and other stakeholders
An electronic version of the Guide, is available here:
3️⃣. Strengthened and expanded the «Responsible Coastal Businesses Network» to 204 members, through the implementation of an Extensive Awareness-raising Campaign, which was implemented from May 2019 to September 2019 (in the tourist season) targeting all coastal businesses on the island. In these campaigns, AKTI’s staff liaised with business owners/managers/employees, informing them about marine litter (sources and impacts) as well as about the upcoming European legislation on single-use plastics and how it affects them, and assisting them in implementing practices that will minimize their plastic production and thus minimize the potential for marine plastic pollution from their operations and their customers’ activities. The aim of the Network is to engage businesses in the fight against marine litter, by (i) raising awareness about the problem,(ii) sharing some best practices and examples on how to actively minimize their contribution to the problem through the Guide which was developed during the implementation of the project and distributed to coastal businesses and (iii) getting them invested in the protection of their nearby coastal environment as a means of securing and expanding their business.
✅ The Responsible Coastal Businesses Network is visible on this Map.
The awareness raising campaign also included visits to 16 Coastal Authorities to inform them about the project and the serious problem of single-use plastics, their impact on the environment and consequently on human health.
The involvement of representatives from these local authorities in the awareness raising visits to coastal businesses, added particular clout to this activity.
4️⃣. School visits were implemented to inform and raise awareness in children and youth about the problem of single-use plastics and its negative impacts on the marine environment. Dr. Michael Loizidis and Dr. Xenia I. Loizidou prepared an interactive presentation on marine litter and provided a ‘train the trainers’ workshop to AKTI’s team so they could more effectively engage students of all ages during the school visits. Presentations were given at 10 schools reaching 1244 students.
During these interactive presentations, children learned about marine litter and specifically the impact of single-use plastics on the marine and coastal environment, through fun games and hands-on activities. The presentation finished with ways to reduce single-use plastic consumption and a call to action.
📸Some photos from the Training of the Trainers by Dr. Michael Loizides and Dr. Xenia Loizidou for the presentations in schools, are available here:
📸Some photos from the School Visits, are available here:
In the framework of the project, an additional action was implemented which was not included in the project’s specific goals. An awareness raising campaign on marine litter was implemented in 2 Cypriot Universities, twice at Cyprus University of Technology and once at University of Cyprus, to inform and raise awareness in 400 students about the problem of single-use plastics and its negative impacts on the marine environment.
📸Some photos from the Awareness Raising Campaign in Universities, are available here:
5️⃣. A highly publicised Final event was implemented at the end of the project. The ceremony took place on June 5, 2020 on the occasion of the World Environment Day, at the Municipal Beach of Geroskipou in Paphos. During the event, the overall results of the initiative were presented, and two artistic installations on marine litter were inaugurated. For the installations, AKTI Project and Research Centre collaborated with the Municipality of Geroskipou and the Second Primary School of Geroskipou, under the supervision of Ms Elena Daniel, a Cypriot artist.
The philosophy behind the installation, is the participation of visitors to the beach in the drastic reduction of the inappropriate disposal of plastic waste. The installations are a fun and interactive way to engage children and adults alike in the fight against plastic marine pollution, and act as a reminder that we must find ways to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The event took place in the presence of the Environment Commissioner of Cyprus Mrs. Klelia Vassiliou and was attended by over 60 people (observing social distancing practices), including the Geroskipou Mayor Mr. Michael Pavlides and council members, the artist of the installation Ms. Elena Daniel, the Chairperson of Fishermen Federation in Paphos Mr. Leonidas Leonidou, Koloni Green Point manager Mr. Michael Michael, media (TV, radios and newspapers/e-media), Members of the Paphos Winter Swimmers Association, Members of Paphos Fishermen Association, representatives of the First and Second Primary School of Geroskipou, the Gymnasium of Agia Paraskevi and Giannaki Talioti High School in Geroskipou, Members of the Cultural Movement of Geroskipou and Local Community Members. The Ceremony was hugely successful with high Media coverage and publicity, and all stakeholders gave AKTI very positive feedback!
You can find below news clips, about the final event:
📸Some photos from the Final Event, are available here:
6️⃣. Extensive communication and dissemination activities took place over the duration of the project, and especially at times when important activities were implemented, e.g. the project launch, the participation of a representative of ΑΚΤΙ in the Ocean Week in Monaco, the cleanup events, the plastic free July campaign through marine litter facts and tips about single use plastics, the awareness raising campaign against single-use plastics in Universities, the interactive presentations in schools about marine litter and the final event.
Communication and dissemination activities were inclusive of all means and media (print, online, social etc) and included 30 publications about the project by third parties (national circulation newspaper articles, online news portals etc.), 1 TV and 4 Radio appearance, 37 Facebook posts by AKTI with a total reach of 63,529 and 1238 likes, 16 Instagram posts by AKTI with a total reach of 6,168 and 665 likes, 9 YouTube videos uploaded on AKTI’s channel.
21.9.2019 – MarLitCy in Agia Napa for the International Coastal Cleanup
On Saturday, 21 September 2019, MarLitCy will be in Agia Napa with a series of activities to help celebrate and participate at the International Coastal Cleanup. Divers will be cleaning up the seabed in Cape Greko, volunteers will clean up the beach near Green Bay (Protaras) and free diving lessons for youth will be provided.
Cleanups Schedule:
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Beach Cleanup – Meeting Point: Green Bay (Protaras)
Join Us!
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/470989560168222/
BeMed Project Launch Event ‘The Cyprus Responsible Coastal Business Network against Single Use Plastics’
It is with great pleasure that we would like to invite you to the Lauch Event of our new project funded by the Beyond Plastic Med Foundation, entitled ‘The Cyprus Responsible Coastal Business Network against Single Use Plastics’.
The event will take place on Saturday, 8 June 2019, at 10am at Bania in Paphos, and will include beach and seabed cleanups with the implementation of internationally recognised protocols on marine litter identification and recording.
The launch event is under the auspices of the Australian High Commission in Cyprus.
