“Protovoulia ‘21”: Climate Change and the Environment

“Protovoulia ‘21*” was established in 2018 by the most important Public Benefit Foundations in Greece along with the National Bank of Greece on the occasion of the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, organising numerous actions in Greece and abroad in partnership with scientific, academic, cultural and social institutions. With the successful completion of the aforementioned actions, “Protovoulia ‘21” moved on its second phase of collaborative initiatives, focusing on the implementation of actions addressing the issue of Climate Change and the Environment. These actions, which have been undertaken by the members of “Protovoulia ‘21” and have begun to be implemented, are linked to all aspects of the effects of climate change: Health, Education, Culture, Air Pollution, Food Insecurity, the Sea, Law, Natural Disasters and the Protection of Cultural Heritage.

In particular, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation supports, among other actions:

• The “Climate Change and Health” programme, launched by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in collaboration with the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation and the Social and Cultural Affairs Welfare Foundation – KIKPE. In particular, this programme comprises the following individual actions: a) the creation of a “Climate Change and Health” Observatory, b) the implementation of an interdisciplinary project on “Climate Crisis and Humanitarian Medicine” and c) the implementation of a research study on “Classification of drinking water in North Evia in areas affected by the 2021 wildfires – Impact on Public Health”.

• The “Climate Academy: An Open School on Climate Change” programme, which is jointly supported with the “Maria Tsakos” Public Benefit Foundation – International Center of Maritime Research and Tradition. This programme aims to develop a digital Climate Academy that will provide valid scientific information, support educational activities and raise awareness among the general public, especially the younger generation, about Climate Change and the relevant mitigation methods and tools. This Programme is linked to the pilot initiative “Chios Climate Chance” implemented by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association – HELMEPA, co-funded by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and the “Maria Tsakos” Public Benefit Foundation. Starting from Chios and promoting the mindset “Understanding – Perception – Chance”, the Programme’s objective is to facilitate an understanding of Climate Change, cultivate a more conscious environmental perception and help citizens to adapt in order to battle this phenomenon.

• Along with the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, the implementation of a study for the assessment of the impact of Climate Change on selected sectors of high importance for the Greek economy and the policy proposals for addressing the problem, carried out by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) in the framework of a partnership between the Climate Change and Sustainability Centre (CCS) of the Bank of Greece and Accenture Greece company.

• The programme entitled “Development and installation of an integrated system to monitor the effects of climate change on the monuments of Delos” which will be implemented by the Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology of the Academy of Athens, in cooperation with researchers from the National Observatory. The programme is jointly supported with the following members of the “Protovoulia ‘21”: the Marianna V. Vardinoyiannis Foundation, the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, the A.G. Leventis Foundation and the Athina I. Martinou Foundation. This two-year project aims to monitor both the impacts of climate change on the environment and the monuments of Delos in real time, as well as the changes of the vulnerability and risks threatening the area over the following seven decades, through the analysis of local climatology, the identification of vulnerability and risk indicators, and the development of a management plan in order to suggest solutions and adapt to Climate Change.

• In collaboration with the Athina I. Martinou Foundation and Accenture Greece company, the educational programme “Act for the Planet”, designed and implemented by the Lambrakis Foundation. The aim of the programme is to inform primary and secondary school students about Climate Change, its causes and consequences in various aspects of our lives, as well as what actions they can take to tackle it. Through a student-centred and experiential method, students will focus on issues related to Climate Change, approaching them from a scientific and active-citizenship perspective, using technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) and developing “citizen science” practices.

During its pilot phase (school year 2023-2024) the Programme involves a total of 28 schools and 110 teachers of various specialisations from 16 prefectures of Greece.

“In my opinion, ‘Act for the Planet’ is an innovative programme as it addresses the critical and important issue of Climate Change while integrating STEM education into the educational process. All this is implemented through experiential and team-based teaching techniques. The on-site training I received proved to be very important and useful, while the educational material published on the Programme’s platform is scientifically complete and instructive.”

Ioannis Drosos

Teacher, High School of Archilochos, Paros

• In collaboration with the Athina I. Martinou Foundation and the National Bank of Greece, the “Support Programme for Volunteer Forest Firefighter Teams”, an initiative by NPF Desmos, in cooperation with WWF Hellas and HIGGS aiming to support and empower the volunteer forest firefighter teams in Greece (Read more in the Grant: Wildfires Response Extraordinary Programme).

• The 2nd Interdisciplinary School for Environmental Crisis (ISEC), which took place in December 2023, organised by the ARISTEiA Institute. The main goal of ISEC is to educate the new generation of scientists to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the environmental crisis, through the integration of sciences that encompass a wide range of disciplines, such as Biosciences, Environmental Sciences, Medicine, Law, Economics, and Social Sciences. The Programme was offered to participants free of tuition and comprised scientific lectures, skills development workshops, career counseling, as well as presentations of research projects aimed at designing solutions for complex problems related to the impact of the climate crisis on the environment and the local economy. Northern Evia was chosen to host ISEC due to its unique environmental, economic, and social footprint resulting from the ecological disaster caused by the wildfires in the region. In addition to the organisation of ISEC-2, a Conference on the Environmental Crisis was held as part of “Protovoulia ‘21”, including a visit to the restoration areas of the destroyed forest of northern Evia and an exchange of ideas and proposals for reconstruction plans.

More than 50 faculty members, undergraduate and postgraduate students from 40 university departments in Greece, Cyprus, USA, Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the United Kingdom participated in the 2nd Interdisciplinary School that took place in Northern Evia.

“The most important feature of ISEC is the multi-dimensional education and discussion between faculty and students from different disciplines, as the environmental and climate crisis is complex requiring a multi-level approach both in research and its response. The frequency of wildfires is expected to increase, with significant consequences for local communities and our health due to our increased exposure to air pollutants, and longer-term consequences even for our mental health. With ISEC, we want to turn Greece into a point of reference and interaction for scientists who are called upon to find solutions.”

Manolis Kogevinas, MD, PhD

Director, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain

*the National Bank of Greece, the Marianna V. Vardinoyiannis Foundation, the Eugenides Foundation, the B & M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music, the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, the Social and Cultural Affairs Welfare Foundation – KIKPE, the Lambrakis Foundation, the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Athina I. Martinou Foundation, the Bodossaki Foundation, the Foundation for Education and European Culture, the Michael N. Stassinopoulos - VIOHALCO Public Benefit Foundation, “Maria Tsakos” Public Benefit Foundation – International Centre for Maritime Research and Tradition and the Onassis Foundation.