“Of Flags and Nets: ESD as the hook for local community development” - a Side Event at the UN Ocean Conference 2022

The Foundation for Environmental Education, together with its partners ABAE and EcoOcean, is taking an active part in the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) held in Lisbon, Porgual, between 27 June and 1 July, 2022. The side event “Of Flags and Nets: ESD as the hook for local community development” will be held in English and will take place on 29 June, from 3.00 to 4.30 PM (Lisbon time) kindly hosted by Vodafone Portugal.

The side event focuses on the power of harnessing networks at the local level for community empowerment and for the generation of positive social and environmental impact in the surrounding coastal context. The key for meaningful climate action, pollution prevention, and biodiversity protection to be successfully implemented in coastal sites is to tap into the ecosystem of community players such as universities, schools, businesses, local government, and civil society to promote ocean literacy and public awareness.

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Address

VODAFONE PORTUGAL, Comunicações Pessoais, S.A. Morada: Av. D. João II - Lote 1.04.1 - 8.º, Parque das Nações, 1998-017 Lisboa

 

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In the first part of the event, a panel of speakers will share their experience in the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) projects and actions related to the promotion of ocean literacy. The focus will be on Best Practice examples in which the local community is brought together to carry out impactful projects for a sustainable transition of the coastline.

At the side event, the following speakers will address the topic of ESD and community engagement in the maritime environment:

• Arik Rosenblum (CEO at EcoOcean)

• Maria José Lourenço (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa)

• Ana Mesquita Veríssimo (Fundação Vodafone Portugal)

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In the second part of the event, participants will take part in a workshop to identify the key elements to successful ESD activities and projects that promote community engagement in the coastal context. The focus of the second part of the side event is on the importance of network-building for the implementation of sustainable and integrated management and for the spreading of ocean literacy.

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Blue Flag partners with Poralu Marine to combat pollution on beaches and port areas

Through this partnership, Blue Flag and The Searial Cleaners by Poralu Marine are stepping into action and combining their strengths to raise the awareness of a maximum number of sites in the fight against the pollution of port areas and spaces worldwide. The long-term aim is to equip thirty new Blue Flag x The Searial Cleaners sites by the end of the year.

In a tense environmental context where the pollution of marine and lake spaces is today one of the top priorities for governments, local authorities and marinas, there is now an urgent need to take action to preserve our shorelines, beaches and oceans.

Poralu Marine, world leader in aluminium marina construction and a major player in the yachting sector, is taking concrete action through its brand The Searial Cleaners – a range of Green Clean Technologies dedicated to collecting waste on shorelines and riverbanks. By partnering with Poralu Marina, the Blue Flag hopes to raise awareness of the existing pollution near port areas and beaches.

Two recognised types of expertise to combat marine and port pollution

In June 2021, Poralu Marine launched its first one-of-a-kind range of solutions to combat the pollution of coastlines and lake areas. Today, in the face of a climate emergency, The Searial Cleaners has made major investments and created three new technologies to reduce marine and coastal pollution. The brand relies on the group's international network (8,000 locations throughout the world) to provide a comprehensive solution to local authorities and businesses that want to incorporate environmental issues into their development policies for land and marine spaces.

Each year, the Blue Flag, a symbol of exceptional environmental quality, rewards and promotes the municipalities and marinas that implement an ongoing sustainable tourism development policy. Present in 48 countries on every continent and with more than 5,000 awarded sites, the award has become a global reference in the tourism, environment and sustainable development sectors. A guarantor of high environmental quality, the Blue Flag, hoisted over a beach or a marina, spreads a positive, dynamic image among visitors and residents. In this way, it also promotes general awareness to foster behaviour that is more respectful of nature and its treasured resources.

An alliance to take concrete action and respond to the challenges of climate change

Both committed to preserving the environment, the Poralu Marine group - through The Searial Cleaners - and Blue Flag International share strong values and a common ambition: to take responsibility and combine their strengths to deploy concrete action and combat pollution of beaches and port areas. What brings them together? The desire to act, the value in taking action to launch a movement, the collaboration with meaningful aggregator partners, a shared network, the drive to raise awareness and recognition, to offer solutions, etc.

The Searial Cleaners draw on the global network of Blue Flag to provide its technologies to ports and municipalities looking to start the Blue Flag award process. Through Poralu Marine’s equipment and global presence, Blue Flag seeks to support new players and promote its awarding process in new territories in order to increase the positive impact of its environmental methods.

“Since the launch of The Searial Cleaners, we have created and developed a partner network in France and around the world as part of a holistic approach. We want to raise awareness among as many players as possible, both private and public, to help in changing cultures and practices. That is why we are looking to work with players that share the same values and common ambitions and to develop meaningful partnerships that lead to practical progress. In this case, Blue Flag!” explains Claire Touvier, The Searial Cleaners and Environmental Solutions Manager at Poralu Marine.

“Last year, the Foundation for Environmental Education, the NGO overseeing Blue Flag, finalised its strategy aiming to speed up its fight against pollution in the years to come. We aim to work more closely with the private sector and businesses to maximise the anchorage points at local level and around the world. The alignment with The Searial Cleaners by Poralu Marine is perfectly in keeping with this strategy,” says Johann Durand, International Blue Flag Director.

The Searial Cleaners x Blue Flag, an environmental strategy for the coastal sites and local authorities seeking to obtain the award

For coastal sites and local authorities, both private and public, that want to integrate the awarding process, The Searial Cleaners’ green technologies contribute to meeting the Blue Flag criteria. “With the water quality standard and cleanliness being one of the most difficult standards to obtain, The Searial Cleaners offer genuine added value for sites that want to obtain the award!” adds Johann Durand. This partnership allows them to implement a tangible long-term environmental strategy.

The two players want to involve local authorities, local, national and international citizen organisations as well as businesses in their actions. The long-term aim is to equip thirty new Blue Flag x The Searial Cleaners sites by the end of the 2022.

About:

Developing unique marina solutions and equipment is Poralu Marine's core business. It designs, builds and installs more than 8,000 pieces of port and marina facilities around the world, placing the company among the top tier of design and construction specialists for aluminium structures. For several years now, the group has integrated the diversification of its activities into its business model – Nautiscaphe, Poralu Bridge, Rotax, All Nautica, CEI, Marina Management & Consulting, The Searial Cleaners –, reflecting the constant renewal of an offer that places particular attention on the nature that surrounds us and on those who work to protect it. The company undertakes to develop unique solutions that enable people to prosper in a sustainable way in their ecosystems.

In 2021, Poralu Marine took concrete steps to protect the environment with the launch of ‘The Searial Cleaners’, a range of Clean Technologies dedicated to collecting waste on shorelines and riverbanks and integrated Biopratic, the first sustainable, ecological garden autonomous in water and energy. In 2022, the Group strengthened its commitment to the well-being and fulfilment of its employees and recruited a Human Fulfilment and Harmonisation Manager.

Based in Port (Ain department, France - company headquarters), created in 1982, Poralu Marine has 150 employees.

Pick a Pier sees surge in Blue Flag marina sign ups

Pick a Pier, founded in 2017 by a team of passionate boating enthusiasts using technology solutions to connect boaters and marinas, has gained over 15 Blue Flag marina-sign ups to their AI-driven platform in 2022, offering hundreds of marinas on their platforms.

Marinas from across Europe have signed up to the Pick a Pier platform, including Blue Flag Italian-based Marina degli Aregai, Port de Saint-Cyprien from France, the Spanish Club Náutico de Águilas, and many others across the continent.

Pick a Pier’s digital transformation of the recreational boating industry is generating actionable data that helps get a clearer picture of boating’s impact on the environment. They use machine learning to monitor sailing traffic in real-time, and leverage user-generated input to understand and predict when, where and how people are sailing. They also optimise the utilisation of the existing berth supply so that marinas can do more with the resources they have, while protecting the ocean. Furthermore, in partnership with Blue Flag, Pick a Pier is asking new boaters to take the Sustainable Boating Pledge and adhere to eco-friendly practices at sea and on-shore.

Pick a Pier also launched an exclusive boater loyalty program - Popeye® Sail Club, the most advanced, rewarding and sustainable boating club. With a club membership, boaters earn points for online berth reservation and for reporting that their own berth will be vacant. They can redeem these points for discounts on future reservations through Pick a Pier. The earlier boaters take action, the more they earn points and discounts. Popeye® Sail Club promotes sustainable sailing, and allows marinas to reward their annual berth holders with best-in-class incentives at no additional cost. An additional benefit of the Pick a Pier platform for marinas is the inclusive payment service that makes the lives of both boaters and marina staff easier and enables the marinas to provide fast and smooth service.

Pick a Pier’s CEO Idan Cohen comments:

“Our mission is to make boating more accessible, convenient, and sustainable. Marinas using Pick a Pier are able to offer an increased level of customer communications and service, resulting in maximised profitability. It also allows Marinas to provide boaters with quick responses, excellent customer service and easy access to berthing.

We are excited to have new marinas onboard with Pick a Pier and know they will instantly benefit from optimised operations and unlocking berths to accommodate boaters. By joining Pick a Pier, these marinas have access to boaters and berth holders in real-time using our intuitive platform that provides a new level of transparency, communication, and profitability.”

The Pick a Pier platform is the innovative tool marinas need to make the most of their resources and embrace environmentally-minded business practices while providing a simple and effective option for boaters to plan their voyages.

About Pick a Pier

Pick a Pier was founded in 2017 to make sailing more accessible, enable boaters to get everywhere, and connect boaters worldwide. Optimising the use of marina berths through sharing economy principles to reduce the need for construction of additional berths, promote maritime tourism, and increase the profitability and sustainability of the marina industry. For more, visit https://pickapier.com a highly connected network of marinas and boaters. For additional information about Popeye, visit Popeye Sail Club.

Biodiversity webinars open to all Blue Flag members

As part of the Foundational for Environmental Education (FEE) GAIA 20:30 strategy for the next decade, a series of webinars focused on Biodiversity will be organised by the Blue Flag and Green Key teams in April and May.

Launched by FEE in 2021, the GAIA 20:30 strategy represents the organisation’s commitment to contribute to a more sustainable world. As part of this strategy, FEE will be focusing its resources for the next decade on three critical environmental increasing threats to our planet – climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution.

In 2022, the GAIA 20:30 will protect global biodiversity through different actions: promoting sustainable management of the coastal zone, combating pollinator and insect loss, preserving existing and creating new natural areas, and finally raising awareness of efforts to remove invasive alien species.

Several initiatives will be held within the year dedicated to Biodiversity, including a Biodiversity Competition, a course, and four webinars, conducted in April and May. The webinars, developed in partnership between Green Key International and Blue Flag International teams, will focus on different aspects of biodiversity. The first webinar will be held on April 5th and the last one, conducted in May (date to be confirmed), can be particularly relevant for the Blue Flag national operators and members since they will explore the importance of biodiversity for coastal areas.

Focused on the Importance of Biodiversity to the Tourism Industry, the first webinar hosted on April 5th will raise questions as such:

• What is biodiversity?

• Why is it important for tourism?

• What are the negative impacts of tourism on biodiversity?

More information will be shared in the upcoming weeks on the Blue Flag page and social media on how to sign up for the Biodiversity webinars.

FEE becomes UN Decade Supporting Partner

The Foundation for Environmental Education, the umbrella organisation responsible for managing the Blue Flag programme, is now a supporting partner of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

For the next eight years, the United Nations will be joining efforts to prevent, end and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration initiative, which runs from 2021 until 2030, the intergovernmental organisation is setting grounds for a global movement that targets the restoration of different ecosystems, from forests and croplands to marine and coastal environments.

Since the UN Decade announcement, many organisations have manifested their support by helping the United Nations spread awareness and implement initiatives at a local level. As the world's largest environmental education NGO, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has collaborated with the UN, firstly through an Actor partnership, communicating and promoting UN Decade activities, but also facilitating the access to data, such as the hectares restored at the national and regional levels.

Now, FEE is committing to a longer-term partnership with United Nations by becoming a Supporting Partner of the UN Decade. As part of its responsibility as a Supporting Partner, FEE will be contributing with evidence-based recommendations to the Ecosystem Restoration Decade while encouraging synergies between the UN and new sectors and communities.

Blue Flag and Pick a Pier partner to launch exclusive Popeye® Sail Club

With the increasing demand for berth space, industry leaders are finding new ways to sustain our marinas while continuing to adamantly protect the ocean. Blue Flag’s digital partner, Pick a Pier, is at the forefront of this mission and has just introduced an exciting new initiative — the Popeye® Sail Club.  

Pick a Pier is a leading online platform that connects boaters and marinas, streamlining the berth reservation process and simplifying communication. Now it’s becoming even stronger with the launch of Popeye® Sail Club.

Popeye® the Sailor Man, the tough, loveable seafarer from the comics is now more helpful, more intelligent, and even stronger with technology — the perfect mascot to champion an international sustainability initiative.

 “We’re excited by the incredible opportunity to engage directly with boaters to promote sustainable boating practices,” said International Blue Flag Director Johann Durand. “With Popeye at the helm, we can make the message of responsible sailing far more memorable.”

 Here’s how it works

 For every sail, boaters earn points, which can be redeemed at participating marinas as credit towards reservation fees. By reserving berth space in advance on Pick a Pier’s platform, boaters can now sail with ease while maintaining the flexibility to change their reservation up until the day of arrival.

 Knowing with certainty exactly where to dock in two weeks is reward enough. But with a Popeye® Sail Club membership, boaters will be further rewarded for those advance reservations. Boaters can book a berth with priority access at some of the most sustainable marina destinations and get points for every USD/Euro spent. They’ll also get points for reporting that their own berthing space will be vacant when they sail away from their home marina. The programme encourages boaters to plan ahead by giving up to 3 times the points on early reservations.

 Points can then be redeemed for discounted reservations and other marina services. On top of that, Pick a Pier will have special offers and promotions just for members that make points even more worthwhile.

Popeye® Sail Club is launching by invitation only and boaters at participating marinas will be the first to get their exclusive membership. Other boaters can be added to the waitlist at www.popeyesailclub.com

“We are extremely proud of this one-of-a-kind programme. Popeye® Sail Club is taking the Pick a Pier experience one step further. The club is designed for the most passionate boaters, empowering them to easily sail in a more sustainable way — and rewarding them along the way,” explains Idan Cohen, CEO of Pick a Pier.

Promoting better sustainability practices 

Popeye® Sail Club is built around sharing economy principles that promote better use of existing resources and sustainability.  

Pick a Pier is already helping Blue Flag marinas optimise their resources without compromising the environment or creating more work for their staff. Allowing marinas to do more with what they have reduces the need for marina construction or expansion. 

But working with marinas and incentivizing boaters to plan ahead to increase sustainability is just one piece of the puzzle. In partnership with Blue Flag, Pick a Pier will ask that new boaters take the Sustainable Boating Pledge and adhere to eco-friendly practices at sea and on-shore. 

 The five basic principles are simple and incredibly effective in raising awareness among boaters and promoting a healthy ecosystem. 

1. Protect the Waters
   Refuel with care and never dump waste into the ocean

2. Safeguard Marine Life
   Anchor and fish only in permitted areas 

3.  Minimise Waste
   Avoid single-use plastics and use eco-friendly cleaning products when possible. 

4. Be More Considerate
   Be mindful of other boaters in your vicinity. Dump sewage only where permitted. 

5. Stay Watchful 
   Report violations and inform authorities about hazards. 

Blue Flag is committed to ensuring a resilient ocean, and Popeye® Sail Club will help us reach more boaters, showing everyone that ease of use, profitability and sustainability go hand in hand.  

Blue Flag has begun using a new material for their flags created by recycled PET bottles

Blue Flag has made alterations to their fabric being used for the Flag, in partnership with Semaphore, the flag is now created utilising 100% recycled PET bottles.

Blue Flag works alongside Semaphore who produce the Flags which are used on certified beaches. Figures from 2020 production included orders that were dispatched toward forty-eight countries covering four continents. In 2021 the partnership with Semaphore was renewed with new material being used for the flags, offering the same products and sizes as before however with a new material: PET Flag. 

This recycled material is made from used PET bottles that are collected in supermarkets and other collection points in western Europe. After collection, the bottles are chopped up in little flakes and then melted into polyester yarn. This yarn is then used to create the new flag fabric on which the Blue Flag is screen printed in The Netherlands.

The new PET Flag material was rolled out during the 2021 season on Blue Flag beaches all over the world with very positive results.

Team Semaphore is very happy with the new contract and we look forward to continuing working with the Blue Flag organisation! -Team Semaphore

Tobago Boat Operator achieves the International Blue Flag award

The International Blue Flag Jury has granted the prestigious Blue Flag award to the Tobago tourism boat operator Top Catch Charters. Top Catch Charters has now entered an elite class of Blue Flag awarded boat operators and is currently the only Blue Flag awarded boat in the English speaking Caribbean.

The achievement of this renowned environmental award has meant that Top Catch Charters operations has complied with standards pertaining to environmental management, environmental education and information, safety and services, social responsibility and responsible operation around wildlife. The staff of Top Catch Charters has demonstrated their ongoing commitment to adhering to international best practices as it relates to providing quality service and safety standards to their guests whilst celebrating and protecting the natural environment.  Ms Shivonne Peters, Manager of Top Catch Charters explains what it means for the business to achieve this award.

“The Blue Flag award for us represents the fulfillment of our goal to provide eco-friendly tours to our customers and transform Tobago’s tourism product. For us at Top Catch Charters, we began our journey with the concept of a sustainable business model; one that ensured we minimized our environmental impact. By developing simple strategies such as saying no to single use plastics and providing alternatives through locally sourced materials such as calabash and bamboo, we truly believed we could encourage our clients to practice sustainable habits, well beyond the duration of our tours. We certainly hope that this is the start of a movement in the tour industry, not only in Tobago but in Trinidad and Tobago. Ultimately, it proves for us and says to the world that sustainable tourism is possible in Tobago as we can successfully balance economic activities with environmental conservation”.

Top Catch Charters was one of four tourism boat operators that were recipients of grant funding by the UNDP Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SPG) Green Innovator Challenge in Trinidad and Tobago. As a beneficiary of the grant Top Catch Charters received the necessary assistance and services to apply for the Blue Flag programme and ultimately accede to the necessary criteria to achieve the prestigious environmental award. Dr. Sharda Mahabir, National Coordinator GEF SGP UNDP, also extended her congratulations and expectations, 

 “GEF SGP is pleased to support Green T&T in their efforts to strengthen tourism by certifying boat operators under Blue Flag. This certification will put our beautiful sister isle on the map in terms of initiatives in support of the Blue Economy. We look forward to positive outcomes and benefits coming out of this project and more GEF SGP projects on the sister isle.”

The National Operator for the Blue Flag programme Green T&T worked alongside Top Catch Charters and three other tourism boat operators as part of the project proposal 'Reducing environmental footprint and improving eco-friendly Blue Economy by supporting Blue Flag certification for four small tour boat operators in Tobago.' Top Catch Charters was the first to submit their application to the Blue Flag National Jury, which was indicative of their steady commitment to preserving their natural environment and reducing their operations environmental footprint, inspite of the challenges posed by the COVID 19 pandemic. Joanna Moses-Wothke, CEO of Green T&T further elaborates what this achievement means for Top Catch and local tourism in general.

“This is a very significant accomplishment and there is a lot to celebrate. This is the first and only Blue Flag certified Boat Operator in the English-speaking Caribbean, the only Blue Flag certified site in Trinidad and Tobago and the first and only Blue Flag certified site for Tobago. Top Catch Charters is trailblazing when it comes to environmental performance for tour boat operators, especially on the heels of theTravel Industry Club (TIC) Destination Awards in which Tobago was given 2nd place. We at Green T&T are very proud to be a part of the ground-breaking achievements and we look forward to our continued work with Top Catch Charters and other tour boat operators and beaches on the island.”

 The Blue Flag programme is owned and managed by the international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation FEE (the Foundation for Environmental Education) based in Denmark. The program has been operating in Europe since 1987 and has become a highly respected and recognised award, working to bring together the tourism and environmental sectors at local, regional and national levels to ensure sustainable tourism.  Currently, the Blue Flag is flying at over 4,600 sites in 47 countries and has over 80 blue flag awarded boat operators worldwide. Mr Narendra Ramgulam, Director of Product Development & Destination Management, Tobago Tourism Agency Limited describes the significance of this achievement to the destination of Tobago.

“This Blue Flag award for Top Catch showcases the strong environmental work that has gone into setting Tobago apart from its regional competitors. Last year, destination Tobago achieved pilot status for 3 Blue Flag beaches, earlier this year we followed up with aligning our accommodation sector to the Green Key certification, and now our tourism boat operators like Top Catch are on board to fulfill the destination's strategic sustainable advantage. 

This is the first private-public partnership of its kind on the island, and its success will act as a catalyst for other tourism operators to come on board so we can transform Tobago together. There is still a long road ahead in achieving our sustainability goals for Tobago, our residents and our visitors, and we will continue to foster the stakeholder partnerships necessary to ensure continuity, rejuvenation, revitalization and success as we move the destination forward together.

While we enjoy the success of our first official Blue Flag designation for Tobago, we at the Tobago Tourism Agency Limited are proud of Top Catch for leading the way and fulfilling the criteria set out by the Foundation for Environmental Education to make this possible.  We are also grateful to our partners at Green T&T for their support which made this a reality.

As a foundational principle of FEE for the roll-out of the Blue Flag programme in Trinidad and Tobago, a National Jury comprised of local stakeholders, discerns on all Blue Flag applications. Upon approval by the National Jury the application is forwarded to the International Jury for final vetting and approval. In Trinidad and Tobago the National Jury comprises of representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation- Tobago House of Assembly, Tobago representative of the Trinidad and Tobago Life Saving Society, Community Development Enterprise Development and Labour, Solid Waste Management Company Limited, Department of Modern Studies, Signal Hill Secondary School, Environmental Management Authority, Division of Health Wellness and Family Development- Tobago House of Assembly, Yacht Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago and Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd.

FEE joins celebrations of this year’s World Tourism Day on ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’

On this World Tourism Day, which is dedicated to tourism’s potential to foster and promote inclusive growth, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is celebrating the achievements of its two tourism-related programmes, Blue Flag and Green Key, and their contribution to increasing inclusivity in the tourism sector.

Official message from the Foundation for Environmental Education’s CEO, Daniel Schaffer

As the world’s largest environmental education organisation, with members of all shapes and sizes in every corner of the world, inclusiveness is not only a core value for FEE but also a precondition for the sustainable development of our programmes. By involving multi-stakeholder approaches in our processes and including the voices of different interest groups, our programmes can ensure the long-term success of sustainable tourism development within local communities.

However, we believe that this does not only apply to our programmes, but to the tourism sector in general. Only if we strive for inclusive decision-making processes and empower all members of society can the positive economic and social benefits of tourism really be available to the whole community.

An example of inclusiveness through FEE’s Blue Flag programme is its work with accessibility organisations to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy both the economic and recreational benefits of tourism. For example, the Paradisus brand, manager of two Blue Flag awarded beaches in the Dominican Republic, implemented an inclusion programme that gives work opportunities to people with hearing, visual or motor disabilities, while the programme in South Africa initiated the “Beach Stewards” project for the development and skills-training of unemployed youth for future employment in the eco-tourism sector. Furthermore, the Blue Flag programme promotes accessibility on beaches to make sure that everyone can enjoy them safely.

Photo credit: WESSA

In light of the latest global events, we have once again realised how important the tourism industry is and how many livelihoods directly and indirectly depend on it. Sadly, we have also once again come to witness that the impact of these kinds of events is worst for the most vulnerable members of society. A thriving, strong community must practice an inclusive approach that takes all its members into account and allows them to have a stake in decision-making.  

Similar to how the pandemic affected the most vulnerable groups, so do the critical issues of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, which are at the heart of FEE’s GAIA 20:30 strategy to drive positive change over the next decade. At FEE it is our mission to empower people of all ages, genders, abilities, and classes to be part of the solution and build a future that benefits everyone.

A recent example of how FEE empowers people through education is our project on Education for Sustainable Development in the tourism sector. Within the scope of this project, hospitality professionals in Cambodia received training on sustainable practices to build their capacity to create a positive impact on the local community through their businesses. It was carried out through the Green Key programme in collaboration with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Changing mindsets about inclusivity and tackling the challenges presented in FEE's GAIA 20:30 strategy, through either top-down processes or through grassroot initiatives, requires educational tools and resources for many different audiences.  FEE recognises that education is an essential element for driving positive change and will continue to embed education in all its programmes and initiatives.