8/9/2019 Children Speak

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Children speak, are the grown-ups listening?

Children aged between 6 and 13 years old, formed once again the Board of Representatives of HELMEPA Junior that met in Athens on Friday the 19th of March. Leaders of the most active groupsfrom Arriana of Rodopi, Vagia of Viotia, Volos, Gargalianoi of Messinia, Exaplatanos of Pella,Zakynthos Island, Heraklion of Crete, Kalymnos Island, Saronida of Attica, Rethymno of Crete, SyrosIsland and Chios Island, represented the 4,000 members of HELMEPA Junior, who voluntary took

action in the protection of the environment during the last school year.

The meeting of the little pupils took place at HELMEPA's Environmental Exhibition which is situatedin the building of the member company COSTAMARE. The children, after exchanging their experiences and opinions regarding various environmental problems, they voted for and elected thenew presiding board as follows: Katerina Poniri, 10 years old from Kalymnos as President, SelmaDerdiman, 12 years old from Arriana as Vice President and Panagiotis Xydias, 12 years old fromSaronida as Secretary.

At the same time, parents, volunteer Teachers and Persons in Charge for the EnvironmentalEducation in the areas where the Program operated, had the chance to be informed about the

program’s progress at a special event hosted by the Chairman of HELMEPA, Captain Vassilis C.Constantakopoulos. A great supporter of HELMEPA Junior from the time of its establishment in 1993,Captain Vassilis welcomed the guests and shared with them his experiences from his communicationwith children and his thoughts about the responsibilities of the grown-ups for their future.

Present at the event was also the Golden Olympic Medalist in sailing, Sofia Bekatorou, who, in her short salutation, referred to the reasons for her willing to act voluntarily and without profit in spreadingHELMEPA's messages. Her way of life and her love for sailing, she said, made her deeply aware for the necessity of protecting the marine environment.

Addressed to the attendees, the Secretary General of Youth, Yiannos Livanos, expressed hissatisfaction in participating to the event and his willingness in future cooperation between the GeneralSecretariat for Youth and HELMEPA Cadets.

Representing the Prime Minister Mr. George Papandreou, Mrs Antigoni Karali-Dimitriadis, in Chargefor the communication between Citizens and the Prime Minister's office and Vice President of theWomen's Socialist International, gave a warm message of support. Mrs Dimitriadis mentioned that anumber of the messages that reach daily the office of the Prime Minister are those who are interfacedwith passion concerning the environment. She also mentioned that information leads toenvironmental awareness and this in turn leads to active Citizens. Finally, she expressed the PrimeMinister's congratulations and his full support to the little volunteers' efforts to which he remains open

to proposals for cooperation in order to aid them further.

Christiana Prekezes, head of HELMEPA's Maritime Sector, who coordinated the event, did anoverview of the actions of the HELMEPA Junior member children in various areas of Greece. Finally,she wished that parents and teachers continue to urge little children to act for a better environmentalso for the next year, especially taking into consideration that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity.

Finally, Sotiris Kopatsaris, a 16 year-old, HELMEPA Cadet from Santorini, ex Chairman of HELMEPAJunior's Board of Representatives, presented his work upon Climate Change, a new major challengethat our Planet faces today and its consequences. He spoke about this issue with great ease and

passion, earning the warm applause of the audience. He said that, he owes his interest for theenvironment to his participation in HELMEPA Junior, as this initiative enables children to participateactively in the protection of the environment.

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The children of the Board closed the Event with originality, by using mantinades, songs, simple wordsand their main message: "We, the children, protect the environment, but we also need your help!"