Living together through ecological values - Mtarfa students' experience

Between July 15 and 22 students and teachers from Malta, France, Morocco, Algeria, Spain and Tunisia converged in Alicante, Spain, to participate in an environment awareness programme.

Four students from Sir Temi Zammit Boys' Secondary School, Mtarfa accompanied by their History teacher, took part in a week of activities held at Cemacam Centre of Environmental Studies, in Alicante.

This educational project (PMO) was organised by UNESCO for schools of the Western Mediterranean. The PMO is an educational initiative with three major aims: to put into practice solidarity and co-operation between countries and people, to contribute mutual understanding and awareness between nations, their people and their culture through intercultural learning and training, and to participate actively in order to find solutions for environmental problems and the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage.

The team from Sir Temi Zammit Boys' Secondary School was chosen to participate after the school successfully took part in a Commonwealth Power Point Presentation organised by the Youth Service Organisation to mark Commonwealth Day some months ago. Both activities were initiated by the head of school, Mr C.S. Micallef.

The topic chosen by the PMO was "Water in the Western Mediterranean". The team was made up of Mr Paul Schembri, the coordinator of the Maltese delegation and four students from Form IV - Matthew Calleja, Kyle Fenech, Kieran Laws and Ryan Mifsud Schembri.

The Maltese team visited the Wignacourt aqueduct, reservoirs, the reverse osmosis plants, wells and water culverts in fields. Other studies were carried out on water usage as related to industry, such as the shipyards, the Freeport, and the Rinella Film Studios. The students also visited the MEPA office to learn more about the laws governing the consumption and use of water in Malta.

Finally the team produced a PowerPoint Presentation on a CD to be used in the final presentation in Alicante Centre for Environmental Studies.

During their stay in Alicante the students took part in workshops regarding aspects of the state of water in the Mediterranean such as pollution, vegetation and climate, flora and fauna, common Mediterranean history such as the Roman period, etc.

They joined other young people from the participating countries, while their teacher was given the task of co-ordinating other groups from France, Spain, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The participants were taken on leisure and education excursions during the afternoons. During the evenings they were treated to barbecues, parties and visits to the luna park.

The Maltese team was highly commended for their participation and solidarity.

The final presentation was such a success that Moktar Farhat, head of UNESCO Group, asked them to produce copies of the Power Point Presentation so that they will be displayed in UNESCO's official library. He also proposed to visit the Mtarfa school so as to work on a student exchange cultural programme.

The team was also praised by the co-ordinator of the Spanish delegation, Nurja Galarza, who commended Mr Schembri's excellent co-ordination and the students' behaviour, openness and performance in the workshops.

The participation of our school in this project, organised by the PMO brings forth more involvement of students in the near future. We believe that such participation and sharing of various ideas and proposals augurs well for the vital preservation and enrichment of the Mediterranean regional environment.

Sir Temi Zammit Boys' Secondary School, Mtarfa, is also participating in a Comenius programme, which is also co-ordinated by Mr Paul Schembri .

Mr Mangion is assistant head at Sir Temi Zammit Boys' Secondary School, Mtarfa