Funding: Volunteer project
Duration: June 2021 - Ongoing
Partners: Município de Vila Nova de Gaia
The Project
Agir entre Marés project ("Waves of Action") was born in June 2021, with the aim of contributing to the conservation of marine and estuarine environments, as well as promoting greater community involvement in order to increase awareness and environmental literacy about the ocean and the resources it contains.
Several partnerships were created in order to strengthen ties between the associative and business sectors, in order to expand the scope of the project. Thus, we count on the collaboration of the Municipío de Vila Nova de Gaia (Reserva Natural Local do Estuário do Douro), AMO Portugal (Associação Mãos à Obra), Novaterra Arte, Cultura e Ambiente, VO.U. (Voluntariado Universitário da Universidade do Porto), aCORDA Portugal (Associação Oceanos Sem Plásticos) and a company called Acqua Douro. With such a network of partners, we combine community – environment – culture – economy in the same equation.
The oceans are home to an extraordinary and surprising diversity of life, but the amount of trash that fauna and flora share this giant habitat with is a serious and growing concern. There are more than 150 million tons of plastic adrift in the oceans, according to data from the European Parliament. On Portuguese beaches, 90% of marine litter found is plastic, of which 31% is single-use products and 9.6% comes from fishing. This means that we are all responsible for the negative impact on marine ecosystems caused by the careless use of polluting and almost indestructible materials, such as plastic.
Marine litter can be a weapon that compromises the health and lives of those who live in marine ecosystems, which, through a cascade effect, ends up affecting our bodies and quality of life. Threats such as animal entrapment, ingestion of plastic waste, transport of invasive alien species, degradation into small fragments and entry into the food chain are some of the main impacts of marine litter.
Available outputs
On the project's website you will find various products and resources that you can consult and download for free:
- Diagnostic report analysing public perception of the work and importance of NGOs and other civic groups in the environmental and social fields in the project's five partner countries.
- Introductory handbook to mentoring trainees in NGOs to help association leaders with little experience in hosting trainees and/or volunteers.
- Training Course on Green and Social Entrepreneurship and Associative Leadership.
- Handbook about founding and funding NGOs for those who want to know about the first steps to take before setting up an NGO, the founding process, management tips and examples of funding.
- Policy paper that summarises the main results of the project, highlighting and discussing why it is important to change and evolve the policy associated with the third sector at both national and European level.
AGIR ENTRE MARÉS in numbers
Throughout the project, Agir entre Marés has directly involved hundreds of people in a wide range of activities and events:
Testimonials
STRATOS CHATZIGIANNAKIS
"O curso foi esclarecedor em todos os aspectos. A interacção com empreendedores sociais de toda a Europa, bem como as ferramentas e técnicas aprendidas, terão definitivamente impacto nas nossas acções futuras".
MONA FISCHER
‘NGEurope is an excellent way to learn about social entrepreneurship and to start thinking in innovative ways, as well as being more active. In addition, I have met many very inspiring people and gained a sense of connection and solidarity with other European citizens.’
GONÇALO ABREU
"O projecto NGeurope foi uma excelente oportunidade para o meu crescimento pessoal. Não esperava que este curso de formação me desafiasse a deixar a minha zona de conforto e me desse a conhecer tantas realidades diferentes sobre os temas da liderança e do ambiente. Graças a esta experiência aprendi sobre a importância do terceiro sector do desenvolvimento de soluções mais sustentáveis para problemas comunitários a nível local. Além disso, tive a oportunidade de conhecer muitas ONGs, não só no meu país mas também no estrangeiro. Através do programa de imersão do projecto, trabalhei num campo de voluntariado internacional e conheci ainda mais pessoas de diferentes partes do mundo. Esta experiência permitiu-me trabalhar as minhas competências linguísticas, mas sobretudo as minhas capacidades de liderança que aprendi no curso de formação. Obrigado NGeurope pela experiência incrível!"
