What is SEMEP?

 

SEMEP is a holistic, interdisciplinary, environmental education project within the UNESCO Mediterranean initiative incorporating actions for the development of greater environmental consciousness in the region.

SEMEP can be summarised in the following seven points:

1

 SEMEP (South-Eastern MEditerranean sea Project) is a UNESCO environmental education project focusing primarily on the South Eastern Mediterranean sea region, involving students at the upper primary and secondary levels in both formal and non formal sectors. It is intended to create an educational, environmental and cultural network for contact and cooperation among students in the region that reaches beyond the school to the community.

2

 SEMEP leans on UNESCO experiences in other environmental projects and draws from experiences and successes gained in projects such as the Baltic Sea project and the Blue Danube River project.

3

 SEMEP provides an opportunity to consider environmental issues that are of common concern to countries in the region. More than just another curriculum initiative it addresses the need to promote this consciousness in school going children and the community.

4

 SEMEP thus aims at interrelating education, geared to both the natural and social environment, with cultural values. Such values are of particular importance in this part of the world where the development of an extremely rich civilisation involved a continuous interchange of social, philosophical and cultural values.

5

 SEMEP encourages a holistic approach to education within the framework of existing school curricula. It is based on problem identification, problem solving, determining decision making parameters, actual experiencing, decision making and skills in a wide range of communication techniques.

6

 SEMEP is interdisciplinary  in character and comprehends teaching across traditional subject boundaries. Where a separate environmental subject is not taught, the involvement of all teachers, notably of the natural and social sciences such as biology, physics, chemistry, geography, economics, civics and   history as well as arts and languages will be crucial.

7

 SEMEP is formulated to encourage collaboration at both Governmental and non-Governmental (NGO) levels. In this light, notably these of the Mediterranean Region dealing with similar issues.
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For more information, please contact:
UNESCO, ED/SVE/STE
SEMEP
7, place de Fontenoy - 75352 Paris 07, SP
Tel.: +33-1-45.68.08.09
Fax: +33-1-45.68.56.26/27
E-mail: semep@unesco.org