2023-05-09 15:00:51
In the context of the three-year (2020-2023) Erasmus+ European project entitled: “La ville durable, une ville éco-logique?” (Sustainable city, an ecological city?) co-financed by the European Union and in which the 3rd Gymnasium of Rhodes “Venetocleo” participates together with three other partner schools from France, Spain and Italy we welcomed our partners, from 1 to 4 May 2023, implementing the 4th and last mobility of the plan with the theme: “Les impacts du tourisme de masse et le tourisme durable” (The consequences of mass tourism and sustainable tourism).
As tourism was the central theme of the meeting and May 1st is a school holiday, the first day of the mobility included a visit to three high tourist destinations of the island, linked to its history: Lindos, 7 Springs and Kallithea Hot Springs.
At the beginning of the trip, the students were assigned to photograph anything they found during their stay on the island, related to the effects of mass tourism. They were asked to upload their photos along with a short accompanying comment to a padlet whose address was distributed to them via a printed Qrcode.
The second day of mobility started with a visit and guided tour of the city’s Archaeological Museum and the Grand Master’s Palace, while the game of hidden treasure in the area around Knights Street closed in a fun way this unit of highlighting our cultural heritage.
It was the turn of the reception of the partners in the school premises. Buffet with local dishes and a little rest in the canteen, relaxed game in the school yard, presentation of the school band, at the beginning.
The official reception followed in the event hall of the Lyceum: Greetings, presentation of the members of the foreign missions, presentations of the corporate groups on the topic of mobility, Kahoot game on the topic of sustainable tourism, presentation of the padlet with the entries up to that moment.
The 3rd day of reception of the corporate schools started with a visit to the Acropolis of Rhodes (temple of Apollo) and a walk in the area of the ancient stadium.
This was followed by the reception of the delegations at the City Hall of our city by the Deputy Mayor of Tourism Mr. Athanasios Vyrini, the presentation – in all languages
of the partners – the important milestones in the history of the island, by the fellow philologist Ms. Stella Voutsa with the help of the French colleague and program manager Ms. Alexandra Siopis and finally, the presentation by Mr. Vangelis Georgiou of the Co-Lab program prepared by South Aegean Region in collaboration with the TUI group with the aim of sustainable tourism.
This was followed by the visit to the Aquarium and the educational activity carried out by the scientific staff of the Rhodes Hydrological Station with the aim of spreading scientific knowledge about the marine environment and raising students’ awareness of the protection of the sea and its organisms.
The beautiful morning ended with a fantastic summary of the history of the island, in the entertainment center 9D – The Throne of Helios.
The beautiful landscape of the artificial lake of Apolakkia was chosen for the last morning of hosting the corporate schools on our island (Area protected by the Natura 2000 network). Educators and children had the opportunity to experience adventure and have fun participating in activities such as canoeing, zip lining, climbing and archery, offered by a sports center operating in the area. But also to relax with a short hike in the forest with its rich flora and finally enjoying a light meal in the tranquility of this green wetland.
Early in the evening the teams met at a restaurant in the city center for the farewell dinner, with a feeling of sadness permeating. A beautiful collaboration cycle of three years is coming to an end. We all feel very lucky because – despite the initial obstacles imposed by the outbreak of the pandemic – we were finally given the opportunity to travel for the lifelong meetings and thus get to know each other, get an idea of the place, the educational system and each other’s culture, to exchange valuable experiences, to develop bonds. The evening ended with the awarding of certificates of participation by the person in charge of the program Ms. Siopi Alexandra and with promises for future cooperation efforts.
In the preparation and activities of the whole week, the students of the Erasmus+ team from the French-speaking departments of the school and the Erasmus+ Pedagogical Team of the 3rd Gymnasium of Rhodes participated and collaborated, consisting of the school principal and Legal Representative of the Erasmus+ project, Ms. Elisavet Mavroudis, Informatics teacher, the person in charge of communication and implementation of European Erasmus+ projects Ms. Alexandra Siopi, French Language teacher, Mr. Panagiotis Adamopoulos, mathematician, Ms. Constantia Tsapra, philologist, Ms. Vana Dafoos,
English Language teacher, Ms. Eleftheria Dellaki, mathematician and vice-principal of the school, Ms. Zoe Kalyviotis, German language teacher and finally Ms. Alexandra Kritharidou, Special Education philologist.
We thank for their help and contribution to the organization of this welcome week: the Municipality of Rhodes and in particular the Deputy Mayor of Tourism Mr. Athanasios Vyrini, the Region of South Aegean, the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese, Kallithea Springs /DERMAE S.A., the Hydrobiological Station Rhodes (Aquarium) and the biologist/oceanographer Ms. Vivian Louizidou, Mr. Athanasiou Iosif, Mr. Mastrogiannakis Ioannis and Ms. Moschona Stefania from the Rhodes School of Guides as well as my colleague Ms. Stella Voutsa. We also thank the president of the school’s Parents & Guardians Association, Ms. Theano Englesou and the director of the 1st GEL Rhodes, Mr. Vasilios Zikas for their continuous and stable support.
We sincerely thank all the participants, but also those who contributed in any way to the success of all the activities and events of this welcome week.
#Erasmus #KA229 #Reception #corporate #schools #3rd #Gymnasium #Rhodes #Venetokleo