The competition, which will take place online next Thursday, 21 November, and which is open to all schools in the Canary Islands, aims to raise awareness among students from different European countries about the importance of marine ecosystems
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), through the ECOAQUA Institute, promotes in the Canary Islands the first school competition of the European project Marine SABRES entitled ‘Serious Game School Competition’.
A European initiative, which will take place online, next Thursday, 21 November, between 9:00 and 17:00 hours, coinciding with World Fisheries Day, in which the institute has called by email to all CPEIP, CPEIPS and IES of the Canary Islands, so that those schools interested can participate in the competition along with those of other European countries, by prior registration by their teachers, in the form provided for this purpose.
The activity, aimed at young people aged between 10 and 18, will consist of a series of questionnaires aimed primarily at Primary, Secondary and Baccalaureate groups, who may participate with their teachers, particularly those who teach content in Natural or Social Sciences, English, Citizenship, Environmental Education, or who teach using CLIL methodology.
The main objective of this competition is to raise awareness of the importance of well-functioning marine ecosystems by involving teachers and students from several EU countries in informal online educational activities, by challenging each other through ‘serious games’ focused on the main themes of the project.
In this way, teachers who register their class groups will be able to work with their students on basic concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology, fostering the link between humans and the oceans, and promoting environmental awareness in our society.
Importance of the oceans
The questions in this first game are formulated in English and focus on three basic principles of ocean culture: how the ocean makes the Earth habitable, how the ocean supports a great diversity of life and, finally, how the ocean and humans are closely interconnected.
This event is not only intended as a dynamic learning space, but also as an opportunity for teachers and students to meet colleagues from other regions of the European Union, especially those linked to the demonstration areas involved in the project. The top-scoring classes will be invited to an awards ceremony, details of which will be communicated at a later date.
The LifeWatch ERIC training platform, partner entity leading several of the communication, education and dissemination actions of Marine SABRES, is in charge of providing a virtual space for the development of the game, as well as access to the educational and training materials created as part of this initiative on marine ecosystems, blue growth and marine sustainability.
Marine SABRES is a project funded through the Horizon Europe Programme, whose main objective is to achieve a balance between the conservation of the marine natural environment and the realisation of socio-economic activities in a sustainable way, through the generation of decision support tools. The activities carried out within the framework of the project include the dissemination of marine natural and cultural values.
In addition to the ULPGC, the project has 21 partners, including, among others, universities, regional government research centres and non-governmental organisations, coordinated by the MAREI Research Centre, University of Cork (Ireland), with the participation of 11 countries: Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Iceland.