January 18, 2018 – A new Croatia environmental initiative to educate the younger generation to take care of the environment – meet Diverterra.
Looking up to best European practices in environment and nature protection, Croatian Agency for the Environment and Nature (CAEN) recently presented Diverterra – multimedial information and education centre. Until the stationary component is built, its mobile module, so called virtual museum, is planned on going on a road trip throughout Croatia.
The presentation of the project results was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Education, Prof. Dr. sc. Branka Ramljak, Assistant Ministers of Environmental Protection and Energy, Mr. Igor Čižmek and Mr. Igor Kreitmeyer, who gave full support to the continuation of the project: the creation and installation of the Information and Education Centre Diverterra (IEC).
At the closing ceremony of the project held at Kuća Europe, it was emphasized that this project represents the first stage in the establishment of the modern and innovative IEC Diverterra in the field of environmental protection, climate change, nature conservation and biodiversity. This will help the CAEN strengthen its role in raising the level of knowledge and general awareness of citizens about the status, as well as the protection of the environment and nature.
The director of CAEN dr.sc. Ivana Gudelj said that the information and education centre, which is planned to be established in Zagreb, will unite the themes of environmental protection, climate change, nature and biodiversity conservation in one place and will be presented using the best available technologies, in line with current global developments. She also said that part of the presentation system will be mobile, which will enable educators to present part of the program to children in all parts of Croatia.
“This will permit children in kindergartens and schools to learn about these topics in an extremely interesting, yet informative way, including via a virtual museum.” said Gudelj.
“Unfortunately, through today’s way of living, young people are largely unconnected to the environment and nature, and the outside world is perceived primarily through technology. They need to get closer to the environment and nature and to build their sense of responsibility for the world they live in, and new technologies are a natural environment which brings them dynamically and actively into the virtual world, “Gudelj explained.
She pointed out that Diverterra is an excellent environment in which young people will be actively involved and therefore will absorb the educational content of the project, so that the concept of sustainable development becomes an integral part of their everyday life.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Education prof.dr.sc. Branka Ramljak pointed out that the Ministry is extremely interested in making this centre and virtual museum a part of the comprehensive educational reform.
“We want new technologies, we want to take advantage of the successes of modern information and information technology so that young people get all the information they need to be aware of the beauty of the planet we live in. This does not mean that the virtual world will ever replace the green meadow or the falling autumn leaves, but children today live under different conditions, in which technology must simply be treated as part of everyday life, “Ramljak said.
The Assistant Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy, Igor Čižmek, while emphasizing their full support of past and future activities related to the Information-Education Centre, said that the ministry expects work towards the establishment of the Diverterra centre to continue, where the use of modern information technology will transform education into something attractive and interactive. He stressed that it is important to raise awareness of how each individual has an environmental footprint, which is smaller or larger depending on his/her lifestyle because the environmental status reports indicate that to reduce environmental and climates pressures radical lifestyle changes are necessary as well as the need to guide the economy in the direction of low-carbon development.
In her presentation, the project Team Leader Tihana Ivić explained that the concept and program of the Information and Education Centre will bring children and all interested stakeholders closer to the topics of environmental protection, nature conservation and climate change. The mobile component of the project has already been brought to life, while the centre awaits completion. It is a “mobile exhibition” that will bring children of pre-school and school age closer to these topics through holographic content. We are planning on opening a Diverterra Facebook page, creating a promotional banner and purchasing a tablet computer so that in spring we can start visiting kindergarten and school children.
“The content of the Diverterra brand is an interesting story about Croatia, a small country of exceptional geo-diversity that will be promoted through the Diverterra IEC. The aim is to present the challenges of modern lifestyles, their impact on the exceptional values of our distinctive ecosystems, the causes and consequences of climate change, and to show the role and power of the individual, as well as the power of the community to deal with them”, added Krešo Troha, project leader for the executive consortium.
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