The event “European Day for the Sea in Cyprus” was held with particular success for the second year in a row, between 9-13 June, at the Larnaca marina, with the participation of the public, especially children and young people.
The event received the support of the European Commission and was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Shipping of Cyprus. The “European Day for the Sea in Cyprus” was one of the 630 events held this year across Europe in honor of the European Day for the Sea which is celebrated on May 20. The events as a whole gathered the interest of more than 200,000 European citizens. According to the European Commission, these numbers constitute a new record in the history of the European Day for the Sea!
During the five-day event in Larnaca, interactive educational and artistic workshops and games on the theme of the sea and the marine environment, marine sports activities, demonstrations of innovative marine technologies, environmental actions such as the cleaning of the Salt Lake area, carried out under the auspices of the Commissioner of the Environment, Mrs. Klelia Vassiliou, and cleaning the seabed in the area of the fishing port and the wreck of the ship “Alexandria”, a photography exhibition on the theme of the sea, as well as boat trips in the marine area of Larnaca. All these actions were aimed as a whole to creatively inform and educate the general public about the importance of the sea and bring the world, especially children and young people, closer to it.
The closing ceremony of the event took place on Monday, 13 June, at the Larnaca marina, in the presence of the Larnaca MP, Mr. Prodromos Alabritis, the Mayor of Larnaca and Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMMI, Mr. Andreas Vyras and the Director of the Directorate of Integrated Marine Ecosystem of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping, Mr. Ioannis Typaldos. During the ceremony, prizes were awarded to the winners of the 2nd competition “Name a reef”, in which all the primary schools of the province of Larnaca participated. The reef of the “Castela” Beach took the name “Alia”, from the D2 Class of the 4th Agios Fanourios Primary School in Aradippou, which was also the winner of the Competition. This competition is a continuation of last year’s successful CMMI initiative, which piqued the interest of teachers and students of primary schools in the district of Larnaca. Through this competition, the students are invited to name a natural reef in the sea area of Larnaca, effectively getting involved in a process of getting to know the marine environment and raising awareness of marine life and biodiversity protection issues. The 2nd competition was organized in cooperation with the Cyprus Youth Organization, Larnaca Tourism Development and Promotion Company and the company GeoImaging, while this year it was also held under the auspices of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research.
The prizes of the 2nd competition prizes were awarded to the students and teachers by Mr. Prodromos Alabritis, Mr. Andreas Vyras and Mr. Ioannis Typaldos. During the awards ceremony, Mr. Vyras pointed out that “it is particularly important that our relationship with the sea is based on love and respect”, stressing that “this relationship should be cultivated from an early stage”. Referring to the role of schools, he underlined that “their support and cooperation is of crucial importance for raising awareness and educating children and young people about the protection of the marine environment and, by extension, for the promotion of an economic model of sustainable development”.
Finally, the Managing Director of CMMI, Mr. Zacharias Siokouros, thanked all the organizers and cooperating organizations that contributed to the success of the event, stating that “once again the participation and enthusiasm of people of all ages, especially children and young people, exceeded our expectations, motivating us even more to implement initiatives like this one that bring us closer and remind us how important the sea is to our survival and well-being”. He emphasized that “CMMI is a part of the socio-economic fabric of Larnaca, part of its life and progress”. Concluding his speech, he pointed out that “our aim is for this five-day celebration of the sea to include next year other coastal cities of Cyprus and to embrace even more organizations and institutions”.
20 organizations co-organized this year the “European Day for the Sea in Cyprus”. These were the following: the Cyprus Maritime and Maritime Institute (CMMI), the Municipality of Larnaca, the Foivos Stavridis Foundation-Larnaca Archives, the Cyprus Youth Organization, the Youth Makerspace Larnaka, the Larnaca Tourism Development and Promotion Company, the Foundation for Cultural Creation for Children and Youth, the Cyprus Association for the Protection of the Marine Environment (CYMEPA), the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, the Institute of Marine Affairs of the Eastern Mediterranean (MarInEM), the Larnaca Company Nappa Sea Cruises, the Cyprus Foundation of the Sea (CyFoS) organization, the company GeoImaging, the Active Zone Outdoor organization, the Cyprus Energy Office, the Cyprus Dive Center Association organization, the Larnaca Nautical Club, the Pan-Cyprus Open Sea Sailing Club, the Wellness Over Waves (WOW) organization and the 23rd Larnaca Sea Scout System. The event was sponsored by the Kition Ocean Marina.
