Established in 1990 in Athens, MIO-ECSDE is a Federation of Mediterranean non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for Environment and Development, acting as a technical and political platform for the intervention of NGOs in the Mediterranean scene. In co-operation with, Intergovernmental and other International Organisations, governments and socio-economic partners, MIO-ECSDE plays an active role in the development of policies, the protection of the environment and the promotion of the sustainable development of the Mediterranean countries and of the region as a whole.

Main objective of MIO-ECSDE is to protect the natural environment (biodiversity, forests, coasts, natural resources, climate) and the cultural heritage (archaeological monuments, traditional settlements, cultural diversity, cities, etc.), as well as areas of interaction between the two (landscapes etc of the Mediterranean region). The ultimate goal of MIO-ECSDE is to promote Sustainable Development in a peaceful Mediterranean.

MIO-ECSDE holds a range of targeted activities that include networking, NGO capacity building, drafting and promoting common NGO policies and positions, promoting partnerships, raising public awareness, participation and consensus building; Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); promoting the cultural dimension of sustainable development; facilitation of Mediterranean stakeholder networks and Publications. MIO-ECSDE has been in the forefront of developments in Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) since its establishment. MIO-ECSDE is coordinator of the MEdIES Initiative, which facilitates a wide network of Mediterranean ESD educators. Also, MIO-ECSDE is a member of the Cultures of Europe Forum.

Highlights:

MIO-ECSDE is involved in:

• Hydra Project which uses water as a ‘vehicle’ to unfold the diverse, yet common, tangible and intangible Mediterranean cultural heritage, through reviving some representative ancient water management visions, concepts and techniques of the distant and more recent past. The project endorses several case studies from 6 Mediterranean countries: Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan and Morocco. The final output of the project is a bilingual website (www.hydriaproject.net).
• Coordination of the annual Mediterranean Action Day (MAD)
• The project Mainstreaming Gender Dimensions into Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean (GEWAMED).
• The global initiative of UNEP/UNESCO on sustainable consumption entitled YouthXchange.
• The International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability held in Thessaloniki, in 1997.
• Organisation of the International Conference on Sustainability of Archaeological Sites through Cultural Events in Greece (2001)

For more information, please click here: http://www.mio-ecsde.org/