Cypriot students sail through education with 1,000 adopted ships

Elementary schools in Cyprus have adopted 1,000 ships in almost two decades, as part of an international awareness campaign initiated by the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the island’s main ship-owning umbrella organisation.

“To date, a thousand CSC member ships have been adopted by 1,000 primary schools in Cyprus, engaging 20,000 pupils since 2006, getting to know all about shipping and the sea from a young age,” said Thomas Kazakos, Director General of the CSC.

“They are the future of Cyprus shipping,” he said.

Pupils are assigned a Cyprus-flag or Cyprus-managed ship and they engage with the captain or a senior officer, exchanging emails on a weekly basis, and plotting the vessel’s journeys around the world.

The “Adopt a Ship” programme was initiated by the CSC and the non-profit Cyprus Maritime Environmental Protection Association (CYMEPA), in 2006 to bring together elementary schools and seafarers on board ships operated by CSC members.

Since then, the programme has been adopted by other seafaring nations as well, creating a unique educational experience aimed at bringing primary school pupils and high school students closer to the world of shipping, learning about safety at sea and becoming the future recruits in the maritime industry.

Marking the milestone occasion, an event took place on Wednesday at the Columbia Plaza in Limassol, attended by Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanoli, a representative from the Ministry of Education, 100 pupils and 14 teachers from five different elementary schools in Limassol.

The programme is also as part of the Chamber’s activities for the 35th anniversary since its establishment in 1989.

[Source: Financial Mirror]