Let this Center be well-established both for Koilani and for the region. Ladies and gentlemen, the criticality of environmental problems and the issue of sustainable development also reveals the need to form environmentally responsible and active citizens. The role of education in establishing an environmental culture is crucial and fundamental. The task is difficult and the challenge is great. Until recently we were talking about climate change; now we are facing a real climate crisis. Preserving the quality of the planet and ensuring quality of life with respect for the environment is now our only option. Because our concern is to work with all our strengths to bequeath a better world for future generations, based on the principles of social justice and ecological integrity.
But there was no better opportunity than this meeting in the beautiful Community of Koilan, on such a wintry day, where nature manifests itself and speaks to us, to underline the importance and value of this awareness of the environment. But together, in this beautifully renovated space of the historic Koilani School, we can talk about our architectural and cultural heritage and their combination with environmental awareness.
This particular Environmental Education Centre, which is a development of the former Koilaniou Primary School and is the culmination of our long-term effort and close cooperation with the Koilaniou Community, together with the Panagia Community Centre, are the two new Centres that complete the State Network of Environmental Education Centres of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MESY). The others are the Environmental Education Centre of Pedoulas, Salamis, Akrotiri Community, Kavo-Greko and Athalassa.
Before anything else I would like to thank the President of the Community for the hospitality today, but at the same time I would like to congratulate him, together with the two previous Community Mayors, Mr. Pisi and Mr. Giannakas, as well as the Community Council and other organized groups of Koilan, because without you the project could never have been implemented.
The Network of Environmental Education Centres (EEC) in Cyprus is a particularly innovative and important institution, the establishment of which coincides with the priorities set by the Ministry, so that the issues of the environment and sustainable development are at the centre of our educational policy, aiming to form environmentally "literate" citizens capable of contributing effectively to the improvement of the environment and the quality of life. The Network of Environmental Education Centres is under the supervision of the Unit for Education for the Environment and Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Environment, which is responsible for the implementation, updating and monitoring of all actions included in the National Strategic Plan for Education for Sustainable Development.
In particular, the operation of the Environmental Education Centres seeks to promote and support the central objective of the National Strategic Plan for Education for the Environment and Sustainable Development, which focuses on the creation of an educational system that will have the appropriate structures and provide the skills that will make all stakeholders and participants in the educational process ready and able to deal effectively with environmental and sustainable development issues. The Centres are supportive and complementary structures in strengthening the environmental initiatives developed in our schools. Each Centre is an integrated learning organisation on environmental and sustainability issues, with modern building infrastructure and equipment to ensure quality education on these issues. I would like to underline here that we have combined this National Plan for Environmental Education with the Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities, since for our Government the challenge and the obligation to stand by our communities is a given.
I would like to note that in the recent evaluation report of the European Commission regarding the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in the education systems of the European Union countries, Cyprus is an example of a benchmark.
I would like to note that in the recent evaluation report of the European Commission regarding the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in the education systems of the European Union countries, Cyprus is an example of a benchmark. The operation of the State Network of Environmental Education Centres constitutes an integrated structure of non-formal education for sustainability among the few that exist in Europe. It is worth noting that more than 35,000 students, teachers, professional groups and special interest groups participate annually in the programmes of the Environmental Education Centres.
The basic philosophy of the Environmental Education Centres is based on the idea of "open school". Through them, the transfer of the learning process beyond the classroom is sought, providing the opportunity for all schools of all educational levels to deal with issues of the curriculum through study, experimental investigation, experiential engagement and interaction of students with various fields of special environmental interest. For this very reason, all the programmes of the Centres have been restructured in order to be in line with the framework of principles, philosophy, content and themes of the New Curriculum of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development.
The Environmental Education Centres are the result of a collective effort of institutions and organisations, but mainly of the very good cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the local communities. Specifically for your Community, the creation of the Environmental Education Centre was the result of the consideration of many factors, which, according to the application of the environmental evaluation indicators, demonstrated the importance of the environmental fields of both the Community and the wider region, as important educational fields for the environmental awareness and action of both the educational community of our place and the wider civil society. The role of the local community and the local population is crucial for the successful operation of the programmes, as we consider them to be the most important source of information for the trainees. Their experience and knowledge make them an integral part of the Centre's educational programmes, as well as transmitters of the unwritten local history of the place.
Our aim is for the Koilan Environmental Education Centre to gradually evolve into a Regional Type Centre which will provide, like the Environmental Education Centres of Pedoulas and Panagia, multi-day programmes, with the trainees staying in hostels that will be created for this purpose.
Our aim is for the Environmental Education Centre of Koilan to gradually evolve into a Regional Type Centre which will provide, like the Environmental Education Centres of Pedoulas and Panagia, multi-day programmes, with the trainees staying in hostels that will be created for this purpose. It is estimated that when the Centre is fully operational, more than five thousand pupils, teachers, students and other professional groups and citizens will be able to participate.
Several decades ago, almost a century ago, our people all over Cyprus, as well as here in Koilani, made enormous efforts, sometimes giving from their own savings, together with the Church, which took the lead and benefactors, to build schools. For, as Cosmas the Aetolian had said, without schools and letters, "the Nation will grow wild". Now that for objective reasons this school no longer functions as a conventional school, we can see it flourish as a centre of education for the environment and sustainable development.
The completion of the project was the result of a coordinated, collective and systematic effort by the Ministry of Education, the Koilani Community Council, the Limassol District Administration and many other Community Partners.
The completion of the project was the result of a coordinated, collective and systematic effort by the Ministry of Education, the Koilani Community Council, the Limassol District Administration and many other Community Partners. In total, the infrastructure for the transformation of the former Primary School into an Environmental Education Centre cost 950,000 euros, of which 550,000 were secured from European funds, specifically from the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and 400,000 were provided by the Ministry of Education. The operation of the Koylaniou CCC as well as the maintenance of the building has been undertaken on an annual basis by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth with costs exceeding 200,000 euros per year.
For Cyprus, but especially for the community of Koilaniou, this project is important not only for its educational dimension, but also for the revitalization of the community itself, since it ensures the preservation of the architectural heritage through the restoration of the school, the promotion of sustainable development, but also the promotion of the particular social, cultural and natural characteristics of the community and the surrounding area, factors that are important for the promotion of the sustainability of the community.
I would like to thank the Koilani Community Council, the current community mayor Mr. Kyriakos Hadjicharalambous and his predecessors, Mr. Apostolos Yiannakas and Mr. Michalakis Pisi, who supported this effort with passion and actively from its beginning. I would also like to thank the Architect of the project, Mr. Kyriakos Avraamidis, and the design company EVPALINOS, Mrs. Mary Panagiotou, Engineer of the Limassol District Administration who supervised the project, and Mr. Yiannakis Mantis, the project contractor, who worked closely with the staff of the Environment and Sustainable Education Unit and made this project possible. Allow me to refer specifically to the Ministry's Environment and Sustainable Development Education Unit. Having been responsible for the creation and operation of the Network of Environmental Education Centres of our Ministry, over the years the Unit has been working systematically, quietly and methodically, both for the achievement of this ambitious goal and for the effective implementation of all the central actions of the Strategic Plan for Education for Sustainable Development. I congratulate them and wish them every success in all their actions and initiatives. The role of education in establishing an environmental culture is crucial and fundamental. The task is difficult and the challenge is great. Preserving the quality of the planet and ensuring quality of life with respect for the environment is now our only option. For our concern is to work with all our strengths to bequeath a better world for future generations, based on the principles of social justice and ecological integrity.
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