Map of the Week – For a Cleaner Ocean – Beach Clean Up Events
Europe Day is traditionally an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn more about the European Union (EU). Every year, on and around Europe day on 9 May, the European institutions open their doors to the public, in commemoration of the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. This week, on Saturday 6 May, you can visit the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels, the Berlaymont building, from 10:00 to 18:00 to discover more about the EU’s effort in building a green, fair, skilled, as well as safe, resilient and strong Europe [1][2].
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is promoting some of its green projects in this open door event [3]. If you are in Brussels this Saturday, join CINEA in the Green Village in the Berlaymont building to learn about the EU-funded projects EU4Ocean dedicated to Ocean Literacy, the Plastic Pirates , and Life Icegreen . You can also see a photo selection showcasing the best of the #LIFEis30 exhibition . Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! is a European citizen science campaign that encourages young people to help collect plastic waste from streams and rivers, and equips them with skills to do scientific research. Plastic accounts for 80-85% of marine litter in the EU [4]. By reducing plastic waste from upstream environment, we can reduce plastic waste from the catchment area, along beaches and offshore regions. On this subject, have you heard about the yearly EU beach clean-up campaign? This is a collaborative initiative organised by the European Commission and the United Nations together with the Smurfs! The campaign consists of clean-up events organised by institutions (EU Delegations and Representations, Europe Direct Centres, United Nations Regional Offices, etc.), NGOs, and citizens wanting to put-up their own event. Everyone can participate. Explore the Map of the Week to learn about past events organised in the framework of this campaign. Zoom out on the interactive map and discover details of more clean up events that took place in other countries!
Wish to connect to the EU, learn more and participate in environmental initiatives?
- Visit the Green Village on 6 May in Brussels!
- Find out about all of the related activities! Besides the open day in Brussels on 6 May, EU institutions in Luxembourg and Strasbourg are having their open days on 9 May and 13 May. Other EU countries also participate in the Europe Day.
- Contribute to a beach clean-up campaign, join one of the EU beach clean-up 2023 events, or even organise your own event!
- Visit the Atlas Teachers Corner where you can find a map-based exercise on Beach litter, seafloor litter and clean-up events!
- Interested in Ocean Literacy? Learn more about the objectives and activities of the EU4Ocean Platform, the Youth4Ocean Forum and the Network of European Blue Schools on the dedicated websites and find out how you can join the EU4Ocean communities!
The data in this map are provided by the European Commission.
[1] https://europeday.europa.eu/european-commission-2023_en
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_23_2262
[3] https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/cinea-eu-open-door-event-2023-brussels-2023-05-06_en