Finland: Yhteinen Itämeri (Our Baltic Sea) project boosts the activities of the UNESCO ASPnet Baltic Sea Project school network

Finland has sought a boost to the activities of the UNESCO ASPnet schools’ Baltic Sea Project from the national Yhteinen Itämeri (Our Baltic Sea) project. Yhteinen Itämeri project received funding from the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) from government grants allocated to the internationalisation of education. The project started in August 2021, and will end at the end of December 2022.

The aim of Yhteinen Itämeri is to activate, strengthen and expand Finland's national Baltic Sea Project school network of UNESCO ASPnet schools, but also to cooperate at international level with schools in the Baltic Sea region. The aim is to raise awareness of the environmental problems in the Baltic Sea region, and to help understand the different scientific, social, cultural, political and economic aspects of human-to-nature dependence. In addition, the aim of the project is to strengthen the sustainable lifestyle of pupils and students and to encourage climate action to safeguard the environment and biodiversity of the Baltic Sea region - and to prevent climate change.

Participating in the Yhteinen Itämeri project are seven schools from around Finland, both general upper secondary schools and basic education schools. Project coordination is run by Vaasan lyseo general upper secondary school in western Finland, with other schools acting as partners. In addition, the project cooperates with organisations developing global and environmental and cultural heritage education, but also with universities, research centres and companies.

Yhteinen Itämeri in UNESCO ASPnet annual seminar

Yhteinen Itämeri project participated in the national UNESCO ASPnet annual seminar, organised remotely through Teams, on the 9-10 September, 2021. In connection with the UNESCO ASPnet seminar, we organized a project workshop for students and teachers. Students were to brainstorm and present ideas on what lessons they would like to learn about the Baltic Sea at school. The teachers were challenged to gather ideas about things they wanted to teach students about the Baltic Sea. All ideas were collected on Jamboard.

The ideas highlighted excursions and pleasant, laid-back working together, from the perspective of different subjects. In addition to natural sciences, also mother tongue and literature, history and economics, philosophy and music were mentioned. The attendants wanted to experience the Baltic Sea vividly, by rowing and enjoying campfire sausages, not forgetting Tove Jansson and the Moominvalley characters. The interest towards international cooperation was also raised, as well as getting more familiar with the world of research, professions and work done in connection to the Baltic Sea. Finally, the ideas and their implementation were discussed: multidisciplinary study units for basic education, a separate course for general upper secondary education, a camp to study sustainable development, or other theme days, etc.

Yhteinen Itämeri on World Science Day, 10 November 2021

UNESCO ASPnet Baltic Sea Project schools celebrated the UN World Science Day by organizing a development day for the Yhteinen Itämeri project. In a panel discussion, scientists and representatives of the field of education opened up perspectives on exploring and teaching the Baltic Sea from different perspectives. The panel represented, for example, the perspective of natural sciences research, environmental and global education, and nature heritage and cultural heritage education.

The panel comprised sustainable development developer teacher Jussi Tomberg from the City of Oulu's Education and Cultural Services; Hanna Lämsä, executive director of the Finnish Society for Cultural Heritage Education; Pinja Näkki, biologist and microplastic researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE; Katja Bonnevier, coordinator of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Archipelago Sea, as well as Aliisa Wahlsten, biologist at the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku. The panel raised topical issues and concerns on the study and teaching of the Baltic Sea.

After the panel discussion, we worked together with students and teachers on the implementation on Baltic Sea related plans and assignments. They are put into practice no later than this spring during the Baltic Sea course, Water week and the nature camp in the Turku archipelago.

Mika Jokiaho, Project Coordinator, Yhteinen Itämeri (Our Baltic Sea)