Opening of the “Black Sea Globe” exhibition of marine maps created by kids

We are delighted to invite media to the following event:

Date:                13 January 2024 (Saturday)

Time:                12.00 – 14.00

Location:           Dialogues art gallery, 2 Soborna Street, Odesa, Ukraine.

This winter the EU/UNDP-funded project “European Union for Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea” (EU4EMBLAS), jointly with the Dialogues art gallery, started a special art and science school for kids aged 10-14 years old called “Black Sea Globe.”

The school was held in two Ukrainian cities – Odesa and Mykolaiv at the same time. The main goal was to introduce kids to maps, teach them how to orient themselves with them, and to encourage them to do their own research on the Black Sea. An additional goal was to provide support to the kids in these cities, who are experiencing hard conditions of war and regular shelling. At the end of the school, each participant created his /her own map of the Black Sea on a selected topic.

In total, 31 maps will be presented at the exhibition. The themes of the maps range from important dolphin sanctuaries, Black Sea depths, and marine trade routes, to sunken ships and treasures. Dive with us in the world of Black Sea maps!

Background info: The EU/UNDP project “European Union for Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea” (EU4EMBLAS) is the fourth phase of an assistance project that has been operating since 2014. The initiative, funded by the EU, aims to help Ukraine and Georgia protect the Black Sea. The key activities of the project included open seas surveys, large-scale collection of environmental data using novel monitoring techniques, and raising public awareness in the Black Sea region. Among the key achievements of the previous phases were the development of a data-rich Black Sea Water Quality Database, and an initial assessment of the environmental status of the studied parts of the Black Sea according to the requirements of the EU Marine Framework Strategy Directive (MFSD; open sea) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD; coastal regions). The current project phase complements the need to further develop national capacities – both technical and personal – to implement marine environment monitoring programmes in line with the Bucharest Convention and EU reporting requirements. It provides further technical assistance focused on establishing modern systems and facilities for environmental monitoring, capacity building, and assessment of the environmental status in line with EU MFSD/WFD, and on raising public awareness about Black Sea environmental issues.

For more information, please contact Ms. Olena Marushevska olena.marushevska@gmail.com mobile tel. +380679062061