The Ocean has told me... A Book by and for the Boys and 6irls of the World By Anna Kurtycz

Contents

AN INVITATION TO KNOW THE OCEAN, 4

INTRODUCTION: THE BLUE PLANET,

IN THE OCEAN DEEP, 10

THE WALL OF WATER. Guadalajara, Mexico, 10 THE LANDSCAPES OF THE SEA, 12

THE SHORES OF THE OCEAN, 14

EXPLORING THE BEACH. El Jadida, Morocco, 14 HUNTING FOR SEASHELLS, 16 SOME ADVICE WHEN VISITING THE OCEAN,17

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LEARNIN ABOUT THE PAST TO UNDERSTAND THE OCEAN TODAY, 18

The History of an Island, Marciana Marina, Italy, 18 Learning about Marine Traditions from Grand-Parents. Cadiz, Spain, 18 The Tuna Industry in Avola, Italy, 20

CONCRETE ACTIONS TO TAKE CARE OF THE OCEAN, 22

CLEANING THE BEACH. Dakar, Senegal, 23 SAVING THE DUNES. Olonnes sur Mer, France, 24 THE WATER I USE IN MY DAILY LIFE GOES BACK TO THE SEA, 25

THE OCEAN INSPIRES US, 26

A MARINE STORY, Marcouville France, 26 LEGENDS OF THE SEA, Arnhem, Australia, 30

TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE OCEAN, 32

A LETTER TO THE SEA, Kolding, Denmark, 32 THE LITTLE MARINE THEATRE, Jakarta, Indonesia, 32 SINGING ABOUT WATER. THE JOY OF WATER, Guadalajara, Mexico, 34

THE WORLD’S STILL IN THE MAKING, 36

An Invitation to Understand the Ocean

We can study, love, clean, paint, listen to and dream about the Ocean. Throughout this book you will find projects that girls and boys around the world have put together about the Ocean.

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The Wall of Water, Guadalajara, Mexico

Saving the Dunes, Olonnes sur mer, France

Exploring the Beach, El Jadida, Morocco

The History of Elba Island, Marciana Marina, Italy

Learning about Marine Traditions from Grand-Parents. Cadiz, Spain

The Tuna Industry in Avola, Italy

Cleaning the Beach. Dakar, Senegal

A Marine Story, Marcouville, France

A Letter to the Sea, Kolding, Denmark

Singing about Water. The Joy of Water. Guadalajara, Mexico :-i-i . -- :.*

The Little Marine Theatre. Jakarta, Indonesia -y-$-Z

, . ‘. . .* Legends of the Sea. Arnhem, Australia

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Introduction: The Blue Planet

If we could observe our Planet from space we would see a small blue sphere. This is not strange since three quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered by water 97% of this water - which can be in liquid, solid or gaseous form - is salty and that’s what we call the Ocean.

We have all heard of, or spoken about the sea and the Ocean either because we live close to it or love stories about pirates and sailors, or have listened to the sounds of the sea in a seashell. Others have heard of the ocean because they have been there on vacation or they love dolphins or eating shrimp. But we are in closer contact with fresh water in our daily life: it is hidden in our body, we use it to wash our face in the morning and to water plants, and it is in rivers and clouds.

In any case, the Ocean is closer to US than we think, and just as we have things to say about the Ocean, it has many things to say to US. Thanks to it, life is possible on Earth. It allows us to trade and fish, and it balances the climatic conditions of our Planet.

The Ocean is a source of food, natural resources, energy, and minerals, and is the biggest reservoir of water in the world (although it is salty).

Just as we depend on the Ocean, it depends on US too. But today it has a lot of problems. We humans have turned it into a huge garbage dump, and have endangered its inhabitants. We are responsible for diminishing it. By diverting some rivers from flowing into the seas, some seas have disappeared (like the Aral sea). The Ocean’s resources are also endangered because of overexploitation.

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We are all responsible for this situation because we all use water, produce waste and consume products from the sea. To help find solutions to the Ocean’s problems, we need to know how to listen to it, to love it and to take care of it. Children from all over the world understand this very well and have set up projects to help the Ocean. Some have painted murals in their school, while others have cleaned up their beaches or studied the history of navigators.

The United Nations declared 1998 The International Year of the Ocean. This has given governments, organisations and individuals the opportunity of learning about the Ocean’s problems and to take concrete actions to solve them.

To celebrate this special year, girls and boys from around the world have decided to share their experiences in this book. It is an invitation for you to get to know the Ocean so you can take concrete actions on the same theme. Why not?

Throughout this book you will find games, activities and information about the Ocean and the projects we have just mentioned. At the end of the book, we will give you some advice on how to develop similar projects of your own. You can also share your experiences by participating in the UNESCO campaign “The World’s Still in the Making” of Planet Society. To become a member, you just have to create a local action (study fish, collect local legends, write songs, etc.) so you have something to offer and to ask for as well. (ideas, experiences, drawings, booklets, exhibitions, information, etc.)

We invite you to discover what the Ocean and this little book have to say

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In the Ocean Deep

Among the planets of the Solar System, the Earth is the only place where water is found in liquid form. This water makes life possible but only o very small proportion of it is fresh (it is in rivers, groundwater, lakes, clouds, snow and the polar cop). The greot majority of water is salty (97%) and this is what we know as the Ocean.

The Earth’s Ocean is divided into smaller oceans and seas which ore huge reservoirs of water of great depth and whose edges touch diverse continents.

The Wall of Water, buadalajara, Mexico

A few years ago, children of the “Valentin Gomez Farias ” ond “Martiniano Hernondez” schools in Guadalajara decided to learn more about water, the sea and its inhabitants.

They discovered that although the sea was for away, the way they use water affects marine organisms. So they decided to make CY big mural with fish, seaweed, octopus and sea urchins so that other students could learn about the sea. You con do something similar with your friends.

You will need:

A wall - o white one is better- or four big cords that con be joined together to form the background Co loured paper Scissors (although the paper con be torn up with your hands) Glue

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The children of Guadalajara followed these steps:

1) They looked for books about the Ocean’s inhabitants.

2) With torn pieces of coloured paper they mode marine onimols that they put on the mural.

3) In small groups, the children explained the meaning of the mural to the other students.

4) The action WQS videotaped so other kids could create Q similar project.

If you wont to know more about this project, you con contact Yolanda Medino. the principal of “Martiniano Hernandez” School. Cedros 226, Ciudod Granja; 45100 Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.

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The Landscapes of the Sea

Just OS many different landscapes exist on land, there ore many different kinds of landscape at the bottom of the sea: plains, hills, mountains, volcanoes and underwater canyons that ore sometimes so deep that they ore larger than the highest mountains on the Earth’s surface.

According to one of the most well-known theories of the origins of life, the Ocean WQS born 3,500 million years ago. Today, the Ocean, which we con consider Q little like our grandfather, is the home of the plants and animals that live on its surface and in its deepest canyons. Mony living organisms con be found in the Ocean with some so small that they con only be observed with Q microscope. Others ore gigantic and weigh up to 130 tons.

All these organisms ore related to each other and to their environment and form what is known OS the marine ecosystem.

Organisms in the sea hove been classif ied according to where they live so they con be studied easier. Those that swim freely in the water ore called pelagic organisms, while those living in close connection with the sea floor ore called benthonic organisms.

c I All life in the Ocean is interrelated: some marine life live close together, while others protect each other. Some organisms need to eat other marine life, and this is what we call the food chain.

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The Shores of the Ocean

The beach is the meeting place of the sky, the earth and the sea. Some beaches ore long and stroight and surrounded by dunes while others ore sinuous with concove shorelines or set against rocky terrain.

Beaches ore mode of sand and rock (like those found along cold water seas) or coral and shell fragments (like those found along worm woter seas). We con learn many things from the Ocean’s beaches.

Exploring the Beach, El Jadida, Morocco

The beach has always been with the people of El Jadida which is probably why they seem to hove forgotten about it. That’s why when the children of Oum Erabia school in El Jadida (Morocco) thought about what they could do OS o project they decided to study the beach and then talk about their discoveries with their porents and friends.

The children divided themselves into groups with notebooks, magnifying glosses and pencils in hand and went to the beach to gather information.

At the end of their project, they organised on exhibition with drawings, photos and inform&ion. Would you like to work on Q similar project?

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You will need the following material:

0 comer0 a notebook 0 magnifying gloss P

o flashlight to look into crocks pencils aI-

+% I

ONZ- Bplow you will find some organisms that live on the beach:

The edge of the high tide is Q very interesting place to search because the treasures of the sea ore left behind by the waves.

Collecting Seashells

The seashells on the beach ore mode of calcium and protect certain marine organisms like molluscs. Gastropods live in snail shells ond the bivalves live between two shells or valves.

Seashell forms and colours ore extremely diverse. Here ore some that you con find with their scientific numes listed below:

When gathering seashells remember not to take those that hove living animals inside; they will die if they ore token out of the water. You con do lots of things with seashells: start a collection, or make necklaces, pictures and sculptures.

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Some Advice when Visiting the Ocean:

Try to draw or take photos instead of collecting living animals. Remember that they love to live where they belong.

When moving stones, put them bock in their .Rs original place.

Observe the plants and animals without disturbing them. Organisms such as anemones and seaweed ore attached to their environment. They can’t survive if they ore pulled up from where they live.

Pay ottention to where you walk, not everyone likes to be stepped on. Keep beaches clean, don’t be o litter bug.

Pay attention to the tides. Remember that the tides come in and go out and you could be tricked if you ore not careful and be trapped in the seo.

The sea should be loved and respected. Swim in >

calm places and in the presence of adults.

When you ore alone or when the current is strong, it is better to stay on the water’s edge.

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Learning from the Past to Understand the Ocean Today.

The History of an Island, Marciano Marin

Several buildings from the Middle Ages still exist on Elbe Island in Italy. Unfortunately, history thot is not recounted through the ages is forgotten. The buildings hove thus lost their capacity to tell us about the people that lived in them.

The young people of M. Togliaferro high school decided to start listening to what their island hod to tell them. They studied the buildings left from the Middle Ages through books and documents to better understand the period in which they were built. Then, they organised on exhibition with the information they found and published Q booklet.

Do you wont to know more about this project? Contact Ms. Serena de Luca, Scuola Media Statole “M. Tagliaferro”, 57003 Marciano Marina (Livorno) Italy, Tel. : (39) 0 565 99 7085

Are there ancient buildings in your community? Do you wont to know more about their post? Do they hove something to do with the sea?

Learning about Marine Traditions from Grand-Parents, Codiz, Spain

Since the birth of civilisation, the seo has been o source of food for mankind. But the methods of collecting and preporing food from the sea hove changed through time.

The Puntales neighbourhood in Cadiz, Spain, is by the sea so it isn’t strange that the students at Nuestra SeFioro de Lourdes (Our Lady of Lourdes) high school were interested in the marine traditions of their neighbourhood.

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They decided to work wbth adults in their neighbourhood to learn about fishing techmques, troditional seafood recipes, stories and legends. Because of their action, the children not only contributed to safeguarding traditions associated with the sea but they discovered how much they could learn from the adults oround them. The students and o teacher, Mrs. Flores Domingues, decided to create an association called “Aprendomos de nuestros mayores” (Learning from our Elders) which continues to work with older people in connection with the sea.

Do you think your community is losing some of Its traditions? Would you like to learn from people older than yourself?

If you wont to know more about this action, contact Ms. Flores Dominguez Care, Nueva de Puntales, 1 ; Cadiz. Spain.

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The Tuna Industry of Avola, Italy

During the fifties and sixties, the tuna industry in Avola hod Q large pocking factory. But the introduction of new methods of conservation and canning marked the beginning of the factory’s decline.

The students of Ettore Majorana Scientific School in Avola decided to save the factory from being forgotten. With the help of two teachers, Clara Marchese and Anita Montoneri, the students recorded the stories of loco1 fishermen, took photos, did historical research and mode Q video. The young people then organised on exhibition and invited the loco1 authorities, the fishermen and the inhabitonts of Avola. Does your community hove on old building of historical interest that has been forgotten? Do you hove any suggestions that could help save it from being abandoned? Do you think it would be possible to organise o project?

To find out more write to: Liceo Scientific0 “E. Majorana” Avola (Syracuse) Italy

96012

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Concrete Actions to Take Care of the Ocean

We have sailed, swam and fished m the Ocean. Thanks to It, we can exchange cultural traditions that give us another vision of the world. Today, the Ocean gives us the possibility to exchange goods and have a tourism industry while providing us with energy, minerals, nutritional resources and a place to relax and have fun.

Today, we know that the Ocean’s resources are limited. But because the earth’s population and industries are growing, it is probable that we will further deplete its resources in the future.

For this reason it is extremely important to learn how to use the Ocean’s resources without disturbing its ecosystem, To use the Ocean’s resources wisely, we need to have a better understanding of the Ocean and its resources.

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Cleaning the Beach, Dakar, Senegal

Yoff is a neighbourhood in Dakar with 45,000 inhabitants. It has big pollution problems.

To find solutions to these problems, Mamadou Samba, an activity leader at the Centre for Young People and Culture, created a Nicolas Hulot Foundation club in 1995. The object of the club was to clean up the beach, install waste baskets and plant trees. The club members also visited schools to talk about the project with others and to teach them the importance of keeping the beaches clean. They created a play and made a video of it for their neighbourhood.

To know more: Les Abeilles de Yoff (The Bees of Yoff), Mamadou Samba, BP 8463, Dakar Yoff, Senegal Tel (221) 20 32 68

Would you like to do something similar in your community? Remember that it is more important to teach others how to keep beaches clean rather than cleaning up the litter others have left behind. Make a brochure, a poster, a play or anything else that you can think of that may help involve your community with the problems of pollution in your neighbourhood.

Becoming aware of the Ocean’s relationship with us will help to minimise the damage that we do to it.

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Saving the Dunes. Olonnes sur mer, Vend&e, France

On huge, open beaches, the wind blows the sand until it is stopped by an obstacle and the sand hills that are formed are called dunes. The plants that grow on dunes keep the sand in place.

Because of the effects of erosion, tourists and bad weather, the plants on the dunes can disappear so that they are blown away with the sand covering the vegetation and houses.

The children of The Paul Langevin School live near a beach lined with dunes.

Because sand dunes protect the coastal forest from the wind, they decided to take action to keep the dunes from disappearing.

So they started to work on a project called “Objective: Dunes”. The children planted shrubs and plants that grow in dunes and started to explain their importance to the environment to visitors. They not only studied the dunes and plants which live in them but they made a brochure, some posters and a video.

Do you live near a beach with dunes? Does your community have similar problems?

Do you want to know more? Jean Marc Lepage, 8 rue de la Frhmondibe, Olonnes sur Mer, France tel. : (33) 2 51 32 07 46

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Now, here are some ideas that you can use to protect dunes:

Construct barriers. Plant plants that live in dunes. Cover the dunes with pine needles to maintain the humidity needed for the plants can grow. Make paths of wood on piles SO tourists don’t walk on the plants. Make posters and brochures about your beach and its dunes.

The Water that I Use in My Daily Life hoes to the Sea

When we use water for bathing, brushing our teeth, or washing our clothes, we create dirty water with large amounts of organic matter, microbes and detergents. Most of the time this dirty water goes back into rivers and lakes and finally to the sea.

Some cities recycle the water before it goes back into the Ocean at water recycling facilities. But even if your community recycles water it is important for each of us to reduce the amount of water we pollute. Here are some guidelines:

Use water in moderate amounts; the more water we use, the more dirty water we produce. Use detergent and cleaning products with caution. Avoid throwing paint and solvents down the drain because they end up in the sewers. Remember that neither rivers nor sewers are waste dumps. Teach others how to take care of water.

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The Ocean Inspires Us bi

Not only can we sail on the Ocean and find food resources there, but it is a source of inspiration for stories and poems as well. Even if we have never seen the Ocean it is in our thoughts, and a part of our speech and behaviour. Since the beginning of time, its waters and life forms have filled the imagination of children, The stories brought back by navigators have allowed us to discover peoples on the other side of the Ocean and its sunsets have inspired painters and poets. Children around the world have worked on projects concerning what the Ocean means and symbolises to us. With their stories, drawings and poems, they have showed us how much they love the Ocean,

A Marine Story, Marcouville, France

In 1997 the children of Marcouville had a meeting in the public library to work on a water project; through letters and drawings they decided to correspond with Mexican children. Although the drawings of the French children reflected a great interest in fresh water, they were also concerned with the sea and its inhabitants.

This correspondence gave the children many ideas. They wrote a play, created a mural and. with the help of Latifa Marcote, the resource person at the public library, they wrote a story about the sea.

Here is the story: LJiJ

Once upon a time, there was a calm, blue sea. A big family settled on its shores to live peacefully near nature. They built a wooden house, ate fish and became friends with the animals. They were so close to nature that they could use plants to heal themselves when they were sick. The parents taught their children how to read, write and respect nature, but also to be careful in it. They were happy.

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One very dark winter night - or more precisely, a Sunday in December - some men with a truck full of fuel for a gas station were driving close to the sea. It was a foggy night and the truck crashed into a rock and all the fuel spilled into the Ocean. Nobody ever knew if the men had been scared or just hadn’t cared about what they had done because they ran away without trying to clean up the mess they had made, nor to warn the authorities.

In the wooden house, Yasmine heard a noise and woke up her sister Sarah: - “I heard something, let’s go outside to see what happened.” Before going out, Sarah and Yasmine woke up their older brothers and sisters (Kamel, Carlos, Julie, Chahrazade. Amdlie, Sandy, Alice, Brice, Gdric and Asmae). Kamel said to the others: - “Let’s take the torches, but before that, let’s put on something warm and then go out to see what happened.”

They went to the beach with their dog. They heard the faraway noise of the truck that was driving away. In her excitement, Julie tripped on something, but fortunately Carlos caught her. She had scraped up her knees, so Chahrazade put some medicinal plants and roots on them so they would heal. The children continued walking until they got to a huge boulder. The dog was sniffing around everywhere. Brice stepped in a pool of petroleum.

- “Look” he said “I’ve stepped in something sticky”

They came close and lowered their torches to see what it was, suddenly Komel shouted: - “Keep your torches oway, this is petroleum.”

At that very moment they realised that...

The black Sea was wild,

and was sad because it was filled with petroleum. Some animals were dead and others were trying to escape to other Oceans. The Children found a boat and started rowing. They found a wise and magic fish that gave them instructions on how to save the other fish:

- “You must go to see the old mermaid that lives on Deep Island”.

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On their way to the island, a wave swayed the boat and Sarah fell into the sea. Her brothers and sisters were very frightened because they thought that she would drown. A dolphin heard their shouts and saved her. Kamel helped her get into the boat. The children asked the dolphin where they could find the old mermaid. The dolphin led them to Deep Island and spoke to the old mermaid:

- “There is a tragedy happening in our sea, all the fish are dying.”

The mermaid told them there was a witch that had a magic potion which could stop the petroleum from destroying the sea. The witch was the mermaid’s mortal enemy.

The witch had a low voice and viscous body with four heads, pointed teeth, warts on her face, elephant ears, ram horns, six arms with suckers, fingers like crab claws, and human feet.

She lived in a dirty cave at the bottom of an abyss. The walls were viscous and full of carnivorous flowers, sea spider webs, and furniture made of skeletons... Everything smelled horrible and the atmosphere was cold and dark.

The witch had giant toads as helpers who held a triton captive; he was the mermaid’s husband. The witch wanted to take out his heart so she would look like him. Then she could kill all the fish in the sea. After the children had got to the island, the mermaid said:

“Don’t trust sharks because they are very angry with humans so they will try to eat you. You have to understand, humans have polluted their sea. But there is one friendly shark. In case of danger, I only hope that he is not far away. Go on and good luck!”

The wise and magic fish stopped them: - “Wait! You need a special power to go underwater”. The fish touched them with its tail, and by a miracle, they could breathe under the water! The children swam to the “cave of death”.

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Meanwhile, the witch followed her little enemies with a coral ball while she waited impatiently for them. The children found several mean sharks, and had to defend themselves. The dolphin that had saved Sarah before could not help them, and the sharks kept coming back. The witch laughed with a glee that could shake the seas when suddenly she cried out in alarm. A great white shark, the strongest of the seas, was giving the other sharks great

blows with his tail. He said: - “I will destroy the first one who dares touch these children. They are here to save

us.”

So all of the mean sharks swam off in fear of their chief. Like fish in water, the children continued swimming when suddenly they saw the black outline of the witch who immediately became invisible. She grabbed the boys (she could only detect boys when she was invisible) and put them in skeleton cages to serve as bait. The girls waited for the witch to regain her original appearance and then they captured her by surprise.

Sarah, Julie and the rest of the girls hung the witch by her feet because that was her weak point. The witch begged them not to tickle her but they did anyway, until she told them where the magic potion was. The toads ran away from the cave. Alice, Yasmine and Amilie released the boys, while Sarah and Julie tickled the witch until she died. With one last cry, the witch destroyed her cave. The children released the triton and escaped.

With great love and emotion the children and all their marine friends poured the magic potion into the sea. Once their mission was fulfilled, the children returned to their house and had breakfast.

The end

Legends of the Sea, Arnhem, Australia

Each culture has its own legends and many of them are about the sea. Exchanging legends is a good way to know more about other cultures which is why some children from Arnhem, Australia decided to tell French children some of their legends and stories.

Here is a legend about a giant fish, by Dany Jangawangga (Dany Boy). It is an Aboriginal legend known as “a story from the time of dreams”.

A long time ago in the Arnhem bush there lived an Aborigine family. They lived at the bottom of a hill which overlooked a eucalyptus forest.

This story takes place during the period of cyclones and great rains. At that time, storms would break out in the sky with thousands of thunder bolts that would shake the sky. Each year floods would force the family to move their camp site up the hill to keep dry.

One year it rained so hard that everything around them was inundated so our friends had to settle at the top of the hill.

But the rain continued pouring down in greater and greater torrents so that the water came closer and closer to the top of the hill: What could they do? Where could they go? They thought they might drown before finding an answer. But then, a fish as big as a whale swam up to the hill, opened its mouth and swallowed the entire family. Then, it swam around and around the hill until it stopped raining.

When it stopped raining the water diminished little by little and the giant fish continued to swim around the hill until the water had receded back to the sea. He stayed above the surface just one last moment and then swam away, taking the floodwater with him.

At the edge of the sea the giant fish opened its mouth and the family got out of the big creature safe and sound as if they were getting out of a boat. The enormous fish had saved their lives so they decided to camp close to the sea.

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The path that the great fish had mode to get to the sea turned into a river. Ever since that day, the floodwaters flow into the riverbed when the rainy season comes so that no family need be afraid of floods anymore.

To know more, contact: Association “Mimis way”, Sur le pistes d’Australie, 3, Avenue Gambetta, 75020 Paris, (33) 1 44 62 28 02

We all love to listen to and to tell stories. With our deep ties to the sea, it is not surprising that it is at the heart of a great number of our tales. The Ocean has inspired thousands of stories about fantastic creatures and heroic voyages.

We find mermaids, tritons and huge sea serpents in the these marine stories. They were probably created to explain sea phenomena that we that we were afraid of or could not understand. Other stories are based on the voyages of navigators like Ulysses, Marco Polo and Amabilis. Others still take their inspiration from the adventures of pirates. Would you like to write a similar story?

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Teaching Others How to Take Care of the Ocean

A letter to The Sea. Kolding, Denmark

Kolding is a Danish city bordered by a fjord (a narrow strip of water produced by glaciations.) In the winter, when it is very cold, the fjord turns into ice and its edges are covered with snow. In the summer, you can ride your bike and have a picnic along it. One day, a group of kids from Nr Bjert (a little town next to Kolding) decided to write a letter to the Fjord of Kolding to show their love for it and to invite other children to take care of it with them.

Here’s what they did:

1) First, they wrote down words on pieces of paper related to the fjord such as water, fish, boats, vacations, happiness, ice, pollution, and children.

2) Then, they placed the words on the ground to make sentences.

3) Finally, they wrote a letter with the sentences they had created.

Would you like to work on something similar?

The Little Marine Theatre. Jakarta, Indonesia

The Theatre of Shadows comes from China and the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. In this theatre, the shadows of morionettes are projected onto an opaque screen. Children in a neigbourhood of Jakarta love to put on the theatre of shadows. They make marionettes and invent stories, with a great number of them about the sea.

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When watching shadow theatre, you can have fun and learn things about the sea. Would you like to create a theatre of shadows? Here’s what you need:

Material :

The stose Two chairs Two broom handles A white sheet A blanket A lamp

Marionettes Thin sticks Cardboard Scissors Coloured ocetate

Choose a story and define the characters for the play. Draw the marionettes on cardboard while trying to accentuate certain details like the nose and mouth. Cut out the figures. You con also cut out the eyes and smaller details like the buttons of a jacket. You con fill the holes you hove cut out with pieces of coloured acetate if you wont to. Remember that you will only be able to see the marionettes’ shadows. You con make the marionettes with a single piece of cardboard or cut out the arms and legs on a separate piece as shown in the illustration. Tope the marionettes onto the sticks with some scotch tape. Use a dark room for the show. The lamp should be placed behind you.

Singing about Water, The Joy of Water, Guadalajara, Mexico

We can listen to the Ocean but it is also possible to sing about it. Some kids from a choir in Guadalajara, Mexico, decided to sing a song about water to encourage people to take care of it. Every afternoon, they visit different schools and give concerts. They also speak about the importance of water. Would you like to sing o water song? Are there songs about the sea in your community?

The Spirit of Water

I am the spirit of water The sun raises me up from the lakes, Rivers and seas, It turns me into a cloud, And when my spirit wants it to rain It leaves me and makes me cry.

To know more: Comunicaci6n del Lago Office, P-0. box 5-687 Guadalajara, 45042 Jalisco, Mexico

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The World’s Still in The Making.

Although it seems that we are at the end of this book, we are only at the beginning of a new story: The story that you can tell about the Ocean.

Throughout these pages, you have discovered some actions that young people like yourself have set up all over the world. You too can join them with your ideas and actions. The World is like a big puzzle with each one of us responsible for his small part.

To clean a beach, to write a fairy tale, to sing a song about water, these are all pieces of the puzzle for a better world. What will your part in the puzzle be?

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A Project at School

We invite you to get involved in a community project. Here are the steps that were followed to set up the projects in this book:

Discuss and Reflect Talk about the responsibility that each of US has towards our environment and try to define how people feel about it in your local community.

Observe Look around and observe your environment. What is it like where you live? What are the environmental problems in your community? (you can also ask people in your neighbourhood)

Find a Subject Based on your observations, figure out how to turn your proposals into action. The project can be centred around a cultural or environmental subject. Vote on the project that your group wants to set up. Remember that it is better to work on a small project rather than a difficult one that is too hard to finish.

Make a 6ood Plan Clearly define your goals (what do I want to achieve through the project? Set up a timetable (define when are you going to start and finish the project).

Make a list of the activities that must be accomplished (gathering information, making drawings, cleaning, planting, etc.).

Make your project as strong as possible by getting help from supporters or collaborators. (non-profit groups and other groups in your community may want to work with you or help you)

_.. ---T----~---~---‘

bevelop Your Project

Set up your action and respect your timetable. Record your progress by maintaining a journal with the documents and photos that you accumulate as you go.

Evaluate

Once you have finished the project, you should evaluate the results. Did you meet your objectives?

Communicate

Acting on a good idea is great, but it is even better to share your experiences with others. Think about how you can inform your community about your project.

Share your Experience

Sharing experiences, exchanging ideas, advice and the fruits of your project is enriching. Just as you have been reading about the experiences of others in this book, you can share your experience too, so we can build a better world together. We hope to hear from you.

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PLANET SOCIETY << The World’s still in the Making >>

The Campaign c( The World’s still in the Making *, which comes under the UNESCO programme PLANET SOCIETY, is more specifically aimed at children, young people and their teachers, in the formal and non formal contexte. Its purpose is to protect the natural and cultural riches of the Planet and to exchange the experiences carried out by young people (New Projects of Living) to build a peaceful society.

The local initiatives carried out by schools and associations are entered into a Data Bank which contains all the information about the New Projects for Living in the world and the partners wishing to join them. From this data bank, some Communication and Information Services (press, television and radio programmes, telematics) are set up to allow all the network members to take part in the Exchange Market of PLANET SOCIETY and in this way to exchange resources.

You can also take part in this campaign by contacting Planet Society :

UNESCO/ Planet Society Campaign Q< The World’s still in the Making w

1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 - France

Fax : 33 (0) 1 45 68 56 38 Til. 33 (0) 1 45 68 45 95 / 45 68 11 77

Fax : 33 (0) 1 45 68 56 38 e-mail : planetsociely@unesco.org

Text and illustrations : Anna Kurtycz Translation : Wendy Gartncr/Ana Ortiz

Printed by UNESCO Paris 1998

SC-99/WS/29