What did Katheti do in the summer of ’21?
We went through a long period of containment due to Covid. This deprived all of us of the opportunity to be active and in contact with our fellow human beings. However, Katheti continued to work online, under difficult circumstances. She continued to prepare all that she wanted to offer to the local community. So, this summer, the conditions improved and Katheti flourished. She expanded and became active. But how? What did Katheti do in the summer of ’21?
We “adopted” two local beaches
As a member of the Ec(h)o consortium, as part of WWF’s program “Adopt a beach”, we “adopted” two local beaches, Vagionia on Poros and Agia Sotira in Galatas. The actions took place on June 5th and 11th and will be repeated 2-4 times a year. The beaches were cleaned and the waste found was recorded.
The data are entered in a database that forms the basis for research, but also for informing citizens and the competent state bodies. This is because WWF’s program operates within the framework of “citizen science”. In other words, it is an action with which ordinary people, adults and children, come into contact with scientific methodology.
The visual arts exhibition “Bridges: Where the past meets the present”
This was followed by the visual arts exhibition “Bridges: Where the past meets the present”. The exhibition began on June 18th, lasting until September 30th. The exhibition juxtaposed old photographs with the modern landscape, depicted by 14 local artists, painters and photographers.
In the exhibition, right next to the contemporary creations of the artists, the old photographs from which they were inspired were placed. This combination gave rise to many discussions among visitors, but also with the artists and organizers. The exhibition pleasantly surprised more than 2,500 visitors, causing nostalgia to some and facilitating others to become acquainted with the area.
Project Resound workshops
At the same time, Project Resound workshops were held, with the collaboration of the Ec(h)o consortium and under the aegis of the Municipalities of Poros and Troizinia-Methana, as well as the Prefecture of Attica. For a fortnight, from June 26th to July 10th, we hosted volunteers of various specialties from nine U.S. states and 15 other countries.
The aim of the workshops was to create a strategy and design a model of sustainable tourism adapted to the local circumstances. The workshops are part of a more comprehensive project that began in 2017, and more than 1,170 hours of volunteer work were needed to reach the stage of the workshops. It took more than 1,788 hours of volunteering in the field to complete the workshops. These workhours have brought us to the final step, which is the implementation plan.
The collection of essentials for the areas affected by the fires
Unfortunately, we have had to add an unscheduled action to our summer program. Katheti, in collaboration with the Municipality of Poros, organized the collection of essentials for our fellow human beings and the animals affected by the fires. The action was completed on August 15th and the response of our fellow citizens was moving.
During the collection days, almost 300 fellow citizens brought over 300 bags/boxes of food, juices, water, clothing, medicines, personal hygiene items, as well as 120 kilos of animal feed.
“Passage” theater play
Finally, we said goodbye to the summer with the “Passage” theater play, an amateur documentary-theater performance. The performance was the result of Katheti’s workshop “Theater documentation of Poros and Troizinia-Methana”. The participants of the workshop researched, collected and recorded stories of our area from literature sources and interviews of locals, and jointly created a play.
The theater play was presented on August 29th at the Open Theater of Kameni Chora in Methana, on August 30th at the eco-glamping Odyssey in Galatas and on September 26th at Cine Diana on Poros, attracting enthusiastic comments.
What did Katheti do in the summer of ’21? The answer to this question is that it has fulfilled its commitment to contribute to the sustainable development of the area, to culture and education. But this effort does not stop here. Now it’s time to implement our plans for the fall and winter of the year 2021-2022. We are entering a new phase, with workshops, lessons, educational programs and preparation for next summer’s cultural and other activities.
Main photo credits: Eugenios Xanthis
