Project M.A.R.E. meets M.A.R.E. for S.E.A.

A Dive Into the World of Communication

Last week Kristiāns from M.A.R.E. 2020 edition went on a special mission to the beautiful Ischia island to give an insight into the challenging world of communication and to share his memorable volunteering journey with the volunteers from our sister project M.A.R.E. for S.E.A. From having deep conversations about the importance of communication and creating a communication plan, to exploring the island’s highest mountains and snorkeling in crystal-clear water – every day was filled with different activities. What are everyone’s biggest takeaways from this experience, you may ask? Let’s find out!

The main goal of the experience with Kristians was to get an insight of the philosophy behind the project M.A.R.E. and how it supports the Marine Protected Area of Punta Campanella in its everyday activities. Additionally, he helped us to prepare for these next 3 months in the areas of communication, economic management, and organization of upcoming activities.

An important part of our work is the dissemination and promotion of our activities, to help create greater awareness of the protection of our seas. Sharing is of crucial importance to reach as many people as possible. Kristians provided us with information to improve our communication skills, an area in which he has a great deal of knowledge. We enhance our abilities through different games and in a practical way. Indeed, with his activities, he showed us how important good communication is in order to pass the message we want to the audience.

With his help, we created our communication programme to be followed during the project. We follow the SMART motto (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound). With this, we established the message we want to pass, to whom, and how to do it.

In addition, he participated with us in a beach clean-up in Procida. He gave us advice on how to best show the results of our work with the subsequent publication on social networks.  In addition, he accompanied us on several walks and excursions to various places on the island of Ischia and together we discovered beautiful landscapes such as Mount Epomeo and the Piano San Paolo viewpoint. But not only that! We also shared some underwater adventures looking for a species of limpet that is endangered: Patella ferruginea. We also snorkeled under the Aragonese Castle to see the volcanic phenomenon of CO2 emission, which only happens in the sea of Ischia. There we also made some spectacular videos that you can watch HERE.

Kristians, in addition to his knowledge in the field of communication, also shared aspects of his culture with us. In fact, one of the most fun and interesting nights was the Latvian cultural night. We ate three traditional Latvian dishes, played games, and learned a lot about this little-known country, appreciating the diversity and discovering new things.

One of the fundamental objectives of the projects M.A.R.E. and M.A.R.E. for S.E.A. is the cultural and knowledge exchange. This allows for professional and personal growth. And so, these exchanges are very important not only for the success of both projects but also for us personally.