Raising awareness / competences on bioeconomy and smart and sustainable use of bio-resources among bioeconomy stakeholders and the society

The aim of the action is to promote the bioeconomy in all possible aspects. One of them is the social aspect, i.a. introducing and encouraging individuals to launch into creating bioeconomy at the regional level, as gaining social support is crucial for the successful implementation of any bioeconomy-related initiatives, especially the transition to circular economy and finally circular bioeconomy.

Moreover, citizens (even entrepreneurs) often lack the awareness that they already are active bioeconomy actors and that the bioeconomy is present in their daily lives. It is especially the case with senior citizens, the more that the bioeconomy can often be described as ‘innovative return to tradition’. And who better knows these best practices than seniors who know their parents’ and grandparents’ ways… Eco-lifestyle is also something that needs to be taught at all levels of educations, but to do so we need provide teachers with new tools, by involving them in awareness-raising activities.

Thus youth/children and senior citizens are main target groups of awareness-raising activities among the general society.

As the challenge of awareness-raising in the society was identified as the common challenge in all partner regions, the results of activities implemented in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship will be shared as best practices with all regional partners and may serve as a basis for new joint projects, e.g. in field of teacher training. The common web meetings for sharing best practices with other regions are also foreseen.

Below please find the examples of activities aimed at the two target groups.

Youth and children

Non-formal education for youth and children

13 April 2019 – presentation ‘Being eco-friendly every day’ organized at Kielce University of Technology for Children. 250 students aged 6-15 were encouraged to become friends of environment. To make the things easier for them, they received books entitled “Nature is adventure” – full of useful tips and ideas how to live a more eco-friendly life.

27 September 2019 – Day of Ecological Education in the Regional Science and Technology Centre

Within the event there will be held interesting presentations directed at approx. 200 children – students of primary schools in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Eco-life, environmental protection, including presentation of drone use for air-quality measurements, will be the main subjects of the presentations. The event will be organized by PP7, with support of PP8.

Workshops for primary school teachers ‘Bioeconomy every day – use of research method in teaching / learning process’

The workshops are directed at teachers of natural science in primary schools and other teachers interested in the subject-matter of the workshops. The aim is to increase competences of teachers in raising ecological awareness among students, including the bioeconomy, on the examples from daily life, with stress put on air pollution sources, emissions’ influence on the environment and human health, and ways to mitigate emissions. The workshops (8 lesson hours in total) will be divided into two parts: the first will take place on 3 October 2019 and the other on 29 April 2020 . The workshops will be organized in cooperation with the subordinate entity of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, i.e. The Świętokrzyskie In-Service Teacher Training Centre. To graduate, the teachers will have to participate in both parts of the workshops and implement a mini-project concerning the bioeconomy in their schools during the school year 2019/2020 . Best mini-projects, teachers and students will be awarded.

Senior citizens

Cooperation with regional Third Age Universities

Attendees of the Third Age Universities in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship are very keen on life-long learning and changing the world ‘for the better’ for their children and grandchildren’s sake, which we could observe during the lecture given on 27 April 2019 at the Kielce Open University of Technology. The lecture on ‘The Bioeconomy – potential for economy growth of the Świętokrzyskie Region and Poland’, delivered by Mr Tadeusz Pęczek, President of the Board of Foundation for Education and Social Dialogue Pro Civis, focuses on the bioeconomy as a remedy for societal challenges: demand for high-quality food, climate change, dwindling resources of fossil fuels, were key issues addressed in the lecture.

Organization and participation in events directed at senior citizens

PP8 RDI2CluB team investigated that many senior citizens in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodship are socially active and open to new ideas and new trends, referring to the traditions of earlier generations, e. g. ecological and traditional solutions in food production. Thus, the Polish consortium is planning to organize various meetings with senior citizens, either as separate events or as a part of other events directed at them. This way senior citizens will be made more aware that they are already involved in the bioeconomy and inspire them to futher introduce ecological principles into everyday life and spread the idea of the bioeconomy among their friends and family. It may be also helpful in finding potential local leaders for grass-root activities in the bioeconomy.

On 12 October 2019 PP8 team, supported by regional partners, is participating in The International Senior Expo http://targiseniora-kielce.pl/en/about-the-event-2/ , held in Kielce at the Kielce Exhibition & Congress Centre (Targi Kielce). The expected turnout of this open-entry event is a few thousand, with over 50 exhibitors (public institutions and private companies). During the Senior Expo, RDI2CluB stand will be located within the Marshal Office’s exhibition stand. The promotion will have a form of meetings and discussions with enthusiasts of bioeconomy, interactive games, traditional food tasting on biodegradable dishes, as well as providing educational materials (leaflets), fitted to the needs of seniors (large font, simple style).

On 7 & 8 November 2019 Marshall Office of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, supported by regional partners, is organizing two meetings directed at local communities of Municipality of Busko-Zdrój and Municipality of Solec-Zdrój respectively. The events, organized within the local pilot on shaping societal change towards air-pollution, are also seen as awareness-raising events to which senior citizens, including spa clients (consumers) are particularly welcome.

Hi!

We’re also raising awaraness among EU citizens about bioeconomy within our BLOOM project. The BLOOM project consists of five regional hubs that have a specific focus on different fields on bioeconomy. In the project, we also have a Polish hub and they’re also communicating about bioeconomy to the general public with the focus on food and agriculture. The Polish hub partners are the University of Agriculture in Krakow and the Copernicus Science Centre.

I think that there would be a good possibility for collaboration, especially within Poland. I will ask our Polish partners to join Biobord so that the issue could be further discussed here. But in the meanwhile, please do visit also our websites bloom-bioeconomy.eu

With best,
Aino

1 Like

Dear Aino,

Thank you so much for your response, we are glad that you joined our community. Thank you also for your proposal, I think it might be a good direction for our further activities. It would be great if University of Agriculture and Copernicus Science Centre could be Biobord users.
I had a chance to find out a little bit about your project during some presentations, although I am going to expand my knowledge by visiting your website.

Best Regards,
Ewelina

1 Like