ISSUE 3
JULY 2014 Read previous issues here

IN THE CURRENT ISSUE
What is INVOLEN?
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The project objectives, methodology and activities
INVOLEN is an innovative project promoting intergenerational learning through game-based learning, targeting nature conservation volunteers in 5 European countries (Italy, Greece, France, Hungary and Slovenia). INVOLEN brings together two different age groups, adolescents and senior citizens and encourages their participation in voluntary activities for the protection and preservation of the European ecological heritage, focusing on NATURA 2000 sites. Seniors and youth are challenged to work together in groups and design their own interactive ICT games on nature conservation. A wide dissemination campaign of the INVOLEN model is launched by initiating school competitions leading to European awards in all participating countries.

The objectives of the project include promoting volunteering for nature conservation, making adult education more attractive to all ages, enhancing the preservation of protected areas including NATURA 2000 sites, contributing to the cohesion of communities living inside or near protected areas by enhancing their awareness of the ecological value of their surroundings, bridging the generations’ gap by deriving benefits for young and old and by involving schools and the civil society and promoting the culture of active citizenship.

For more information read here: http://www.involen.eu/en/


 





NEWS
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Summing up the pilot courses in Hungary
The INVOLEN partnership met for the third time in Szombathely, Hungary in early July 2014 in order to sum up the experience of all pilot courses and revise the learning methodology of the project, including all necessary material to be used by the future participants in the European Competition. The project was presented in the 13th Summer Academy, which was organised by the  Euracademy Association in cooperation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, The Centre for Economic and Regional Studies on the theme “Volunteering and Sustainable rural Development”.  

Find out more about the pilot courses per country by visiting the national pages of partners on the INVOLEN website.
 

Read a short outline in English here





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National workshops in progress
INVOLEN partners organize one workshop in each country (Italy, Greece, France, Hungary and Slovenia), for disseminating widely the learning methodology and inviting organisations to enter the competitions.

The workshops have a duration of one day and address participants from schools, NGOs, scouts associations, local, regional and national authorities. Interested participants are advised to contact via email the national partners.



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The value of protected areas
None of the games wouldnot have come into digital life if it was not to conserve  the protected areas selected by the partners.


The Provincial Park of Monti Livornesi
 in Italy
 

The Provincial Park of Monti Livornesi was founded in 1999 and covers three municipalities (Livorno, Collesalvetti and Rosignano Marittimo) of Livorno province. Despite its importance for nature and history, the Provincial Park of Monti Livornesi is not very well known by the local community. Now some important valorization and protection actions are being taken, including the realization of information panels that will be developed by the pilot group in the frame of the INVOLEN project!
 

For more information see here


The Natura 2000 area of Gâvres – Quiberon in France 
 

The Natura 2000 area of Gâvres – Quiberon is a set dune continuous maritime on 35 kilometres of coastline without urbanization. It is an exceptional area which houses very rare fauna and flora that take advantage of the mosaic of habitats that constitutes. Since 1997, a conservation program, as part of a Opération Grand Site, has been implemented, piloted by the Syndicat Mixte du Grand Site Gâvres-Quiberon. In 2002, the site was included in the program Natura 2000.

For more information see here


The Vravrona Wetland in Greece

Between the towns of Artemida and Markopoulo, on a fertile plain crossed by the Erasinos stream, lies the Vravrona wetland, one of the most crucial wildlife sanctuaries in Attica, less than 20 miles away from the city of Athens. The Vravrona wetland is a designated Site of Community Importance (SCI) under the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) and has also been included in the Natura 2000 list of proposed sites.

For more information see here
 

Territory of the Dead Rába in Hungary  

The natural environment of the Dead Rába is a part of the Fertő-Hanság National Park and is located south-west from Győr in the suburb area of the town. The protected area is tightly bounded to the water and evolved after the river-regulation in 1888. Besides the high rate of habitat diversity, the surrounding is a significant landscape value, which has to be preserved and protected. The main challenges concerning this area are the mitigation of the reed-population, the insurance of the adequate water supply, the preservation and improvement of the water quality and the maintenance of the habitat diversity.

For more information see here

The
Notranjska Regional Park in Slovenia


The Notranjska Regional Park offers to visitors a chance of surprising view. The diverse cultural landscape of the park is the result of harmonious coexistence between man and nature for centuries. Park includes many different habitats, resulting in great diversity of animal and plant species .The Park has the intermittent Cerknica Lake, as a result of the karst field flooding.

For more information see here







 








OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE
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The European Competition is on!
Five national competitions are scheduled to be carried out amongst secondary schools in the project-countries leading to awards for the best volunteer conservationists’ games. Schools and other interested parties (e.g. NGOs) will be invited to join. The schools or NGOs will be selected on the basis of their capacity to integrate the learning methodology in their environmental education programmes. Each participating organisation will be expected to enter the competition by producing one or two learning games, based on visits to the natural site selected, collecting stories from seniors and adding environmental conservation input from teachers / facilitators.

The competition will be concluded with a European Conference in Italy, where the results of the competitions will be presented. The 3 finalist volunteer groups will be invited to present their projects and their learning results to the conference audience.

The competition will be officially launched by November 2014.

Find out more on how you can participate here.




Press
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Read all the latest
Read all the latest about the publications of the INVOLEN project in partners’ countries here